Fate Has a Way
by raindropdays
Summary: Inuyasha is dead and Kagome is forever stuck in her own time. Will fate allow them to meet again? And if they do, will it really be Inuyasha whom Kagome meets? Or just a reincarnation with no memory or love for her at all? *Rated T for language*
1. Forever Death

**A/N: Another new story! Wow, I'm on a roll. Haha. So I usually don't do 'alternate-ending stories' (I suppose you could call it that...), but I suddenly had a good idea and as we know, April is Inu Yasha obsession month for me. :) So here we are at chapter one of 'Fate Has a Way'. This chapter serves as a prologue of events to come (I suppose) and is a sort of flashback told in first person (Kagome's point of view) since it is Kagome's memory that introduces us to the story. Following chapters will be in third person and follow the events following this tragic scene. Thanks for visiting and please enjoy!**

**Also. This has been rated T for language. Those demons (and hanyou...) just love cussing it seems. ^^; **

**Disclaimer: raindropdays does not own Inu Yasha. **

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><p><span>Forever Death<span>

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><p>Death.<p>

No matter how you say it. No matter when you see it. No matter how you meet it; alone, with friends, up close and personal, or not. It breaks a person.

Whether physically or by chipping off a piece of the soul, death can destroy a person.

And I am no exception.

But of course, I'm still here. I'm still breathing. I'm living to tell the story and the truth behind that unfortunate turn of events that unfolded last spring, so many months ago.

Last spring...

It's already been too long since his name has slipped off my tongue and his less-than-melodious voice rang perfectly against my eardrums. He was perfect, he was mine, he was...

Tell me; why do people fall in love?

Never mind. Love is a feeling, a fleeting dream that I no longer hold any desire for. Take away all the men on this planet and throw them into some great black hole somewhere out there beyond the stars and watch my proud face; I, Kagome Higurashi won't shed a tear.

Because there is no one on this earth that could ever replace what was lost to me in a battle of fury, fire, hatred and pain. A struggle of hatred that we were bound to by destiny... by "what-if's" and "maybe's"... and by a nagging peculiarity of history to always repeat.

I was told that the second time he died wasn't like the first.

I try not to remember the day though I know I should. I know it is an insult to his fine memory, to walk away and hide my face because I cannot stand to face the truth.

A cloud of red smoke blurred my vision that day as I watched through half-opaque eyes, the death of my love. My mouth was dry, aiding my blank mind in its search for words that could never be found. There are no words to describe losing a love one, you know. None at all can capture the pain, sadness, anger, panic, regret, denial and hatred all rolled into one. I don't have a word for that emotion so I'll call it "empty". Emptiness... a feeling in and of itself that does not feel; it haunts.

When he was struck down, I screamed. I always did when he was hurt, injured, in danger or anything in between. I rushed forward, over demon corpses and discarded weapons, on legs of lead that I remember cursing for moving too slowly.

Muffled cries broke through the thick miasma coated air attempting to reach my ears but my brain was turned off and I was accepting no requests for my now undivided attention.

Was the ground dangerous? Were their poisonous fumes leaking around me? Was I going to die?

None of it mattered. What did my safety matter when he hung onto life by a single thread?

I saw him fall in slow motion, the same as I would see in my nightmares, day and night.

When he hit the ground it seemed surreal to me that he was not snarling some insult back at his attacker, laced in foul language and drugged in pain. I screamed his name across the distance that separated us.

Please... just look at me. Please...

And I cursed my keen eyesight, silently, for showing me so clearly, the blank stare in his once vibrant amber eyes.

I was so near and yet so far away when the wind was knocked out of me. Something firm and steady made contact with my stomach, slamming me hard against the ground and ignoring my frantic protests. I needed to be near him, to see him, to watch him rise and be okay.

Please... just be okay. Please...

As I lay on my back, stopped brutally from my attacker, I realized it was Miroku who had stopped me, throwing his arm forward to collide with my frantic figure and prevent me from rushing to my beloved's side.

_What are you doing?_ I wanted to scream though the wind had been knocked from my chest and I could only look at him with desperate eyes that pleaded without seeing.

He quickly shifted to half-carrying, half-pulling me away from the battle to which I violently reacted, angrily kicking and struggling in his already wounded arms.

"No, Kagome," he managed to reprimand me through gritted teeth and a body full of deadly poison, "You, can't, help, him, now."

_Lies!_

"Let me go!" I managed to shout as I struggled.

"I won't let you die as well!" Miroku shouted, quickly losing his temper with me out of desperation and grief. Still, I continued to struggle.

"He's not dead!" I screamed as if by screaming those words they would somehow become true. Somehow, they would gain validity.

"Kago—" Miroku began in a softer tone though at that moment large tentacle stabbed at the ground between us, narrowly missing each of us by inches, and forcing us apart in the rubble that proceeded to follow. I never knew if he meant to comfort me or pity me.

"Miroku!" I shouted frantically as I landed hard on the dirt ground. An evil and dark laugh resonated throughout the small makeshift battlefield, drowning out any reply that could come. I turned indignantly towards the source of the cackle to find myself looking eye to eye with the devil himself.

"Naraku, you bastard," I hissed as I struggled to my feet. He continued to laugh and taunt me as he always did though my eyes had now refocused on something shimmering ever so lightly in his outstretched hand. Was that a speck of light in the Shikon Jewel?

_Kikyo's light..._

Desperately I scanned the ground for my long bow and found it ignorantly discarded a few feet from me luckily undamaged in the chaos that coated what we all knew would be our final battle with that shape shifting bastard, Naraku. Without so much as paying a moment of attention to his lengthy, egotistical rant, I sprung forward, grabbing the bow with less-than-perfect agility and nearly stumbling off an oddly placed cliff in the process as blood coated the rocks I passed.

"Oh, you think to kill me wench?" That I registered Naraku saying. That caused my anger to boil over.

"You have killed so many innocent people!" I shouted as I righted myself from my clumsy retrieval.

"Including your beloved Inuyasha," Naraku nearly whispered, his eyes bright red from a mad frenzy. Was it happiness? Was it ecstasy? Had he finally gone mad? It sickened me and suddenly I felt nauseous enough to fall to my knees, my bow clattering at my side. I hunched over, palms pressed against the hard ground before me, and stared at the ground, nearly retching as fear gripped my insides, squeezing tight around my stomach and heart.

_Oh god... Inuyasha... he's... _

"And now, this will be your end, wench," Naraku sighed, almost bored, "Join your beloved in hell!"

My head snapped up to face the miasma coated tentacle now zooming forward to kill me just as it was inches from my face. At the blink of an eye, I would soon be dead. And there was no Inuyasha coming to save me this time... There was no Inuyasha anywhere in my world anymore...

Perhaps we really could be together in hell after all... Perhaps following him in death wasn't so bad...

Though, death's dutiful pain never came. The tentacle disintegrated against a barrier of purity before it reached me causing shock to arise from both Naraku and me. I looked on utterly surprised and Naraku cussed angrily at this unforeseen loophole.

"Bitch," he hissed as he readied to strike again, "You think a pitiful spiritual barrier like your own can defeat Naraku?"

I blinked, eyes filled with shock. It wasn't my barrier though its warm presence felt familiar. My eyes caught a glimpse of the Shikon Jewel's shimmer yet again and in the back of my mind, the answer to both Naraku's and my question became painfully clear.

_Kikyo..._

"_Kagome, there is no time to waste_."

As if right on cue, a stoic though beautifully soft voice seemed to overwhelm my presence and I felt the bow inches from my hand resonate.

"_You must finish Naraku here and now, do you understand?"_

A strange sadness underlined Kikyo's sense of urgency and immediately I felt the same pang of grief in my own heart. I felt strangely connected to her as the realization swept over me, denial wiped clean from my mind.

"_You must shoot him now and purify him along with the Shikon Jewel. This is our chance._"

Shakily, I rose to my feet, grasping my bow as I stood, as tears welled up in my eyes.

She seemed to want to whisper in my ear that he was gone but duty always came first.

"Oh? You think to fight me wench?" Naraku laughed as though I were no threat at all. I bit my tongue. Without Kikyo, perhaps I wouldn't be.

Cautiously, I drew the bow as my heart tore to shreds in my chest.

"_Aim well."_

Focusing on the Shikon Jewel as I held back overflowing sorrow, I positioned the arrow to shoot, purify and kill Naraku once and for all.

_For Sango's horrors and broken family. _

I carefully surveyed the surroundings looking for anything that could interfere.

_For Miroku's too-long suffered curse._

"You cannot kill me, wench!"

I bit my lip.

_For... Inuyasha..._

With that thought, I released the arrow, letting it soar through the air with lightning speed that I alone could have never possessed. The time that followed seemed to be too quick as I scarcely blinked.

The arrow struck its target dead on and in a bright flash of light and defiant scream, Naraku disappeared from this earth and my sanity along with him.

The miasma faded from the battle zone as did Kikyo's conscience from my soul, leaving behind the understanding between us that can only come from sharing a soul. Our shared love had gone and now I knew it. I knew it fully and well... and could do nothing about it.

"_Good job, Kagome..."_

Her parting words. I wondered later if maybe she had only complimented me because she knew she had won.

She had Inuyasha for ever after; they would always be together in hell.

And inside of me, a part of me died as well, following Inuyasha. Forever with my love beyond the grave.

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><p><strong>AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed! As I said before, following chapters will get more into the plot. As usual, I hate having to set everything up. Haha. Please review and see you soon! Have a great day! :D**


	2. The Fortune Teller's Promise

**A/N: A fairly quick update, folks. :D Admittedly, when I started this story I had no idea where it was going. XD I just really wanted to write something for the Inuyasha fandom and while I admit, it's not the most unique plot in the book, I wanted to try my own take on it... so here we are at chapter two. Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest in the story thus far and I hope that this chapter does not disappoint! Please enjoy. :)**

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><p><span>The Fortune Teller's Promise<span>

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><p>She buried her face deeper into his robe and breathed in the deep scent of earth. Earth and bits of ash and fire itself that had been woven together all too well with just a touch of familiarity that only she knew. It was the scent she had come to know, to love and yearn for.<p>

Though she knew that scents could never affect her as much as they did him, she couldn't help it; it just brought back so many memories. Memories of times gone by and echoes of a distant future to come; a future together. Through all their bitter strife and coarse whispers of "I love you" in the deepest of night, she had come to know this scent, to rely on it and to always have it waiting for her when she came home. Because coming back to him was coming home in so many ways. And she would never give it up for anything in the world.

As she clutched at the fabric, her hands ran across his chest slowly, gripping at the cloth and refusing to let go. She let its texture bring her back to early memories and first meetings they shared in the shade of a cursed tree. And for a moment, she was back there once again, basking in the sunlight of a fated day, pressed up against him as curiosity and a general sense of excitement pooled in her stomach.

Almost desperately, his arms wrapped around her shoulders and held her tight against him bringing her crashing back to reality. With a sense of frantic urge that was too far above his already towering ego, he held her against him and let silence overtake them. And it scared her. Scared her because he was never desperate, he was always so sure...so confident. So... him.

Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his, an unasked question hovering just behind them. She held his gaze cautiously, letting the world fall away and shatter on the floor.

And in that moment, nothing else seemed to matter. Not where they were going next, not how they would get there. Not even what tomorrow brought or what yesterday's resonances held. It was all so meaningless in that one slip of fragmented time.

All the world's problems slipped away and time seemed to freeze because it was just her and him in the whole world. And that was all that mattered.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, his voice uncharacteristically gentle, thoughts of her and only her running through his mind, "Always... I'll always..."

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><p>Kagome woke with a start.<p>

Sourly she glowered at her alarm clock as all-too vivid memories of the now fleeting dream eagerly wormed their way into her mind. As far as dreams went, she'd always been able to deal with them and their often cruel aftermath. Even when she had had that dream about the monster under her bed when she was six, and it had almost eaten her whole—even then, she had always been able to brush them off as nothing more than just that: dreams.

But there was something so real, so genuine about this particular dream.

She scoffed as she kicked the covers off and sat up, silencing the alarm with a heavy thud as she moved. Though it had been years since any of it had happened, she still very much disliked dreaming about the past. She found it highly unnecessary to keep dreaming about things that had already gone by, things that had already happened. She made her way to her closet as she stripped off her pajamas, messily folding them and shoving them onto one of the shelves and grabbing her school uniform from one of the hangers.

_What is the point of dreams anyway?_ She thought to herself almost bitterly as she pulled on the azure plaid skirt, followed by the dressy white shirt and navy jacket. All they served to do was drudge up memories better left forgotten. It was the past. Things that had already happened. Things that would happen never again.

Never...

She paused in buttoning her jacket as thoughts of panic and grief danced on the edge of her mind. And for a second her eyes grew wide with the fear of remembering all too vividly the fact that he wasn't there anymore. That he wouldn't be coming to get her in his own impatient way when she took too long to return to him.

That she would never smell, feel or _be_ home again.

With practiced, though still, great effort, she blinked away thoughts, not allowing tears to form any longer. She wouldn't break down anymore. It had been two years. It had become okay. She had become okay.

And, she had also become one hell of a liar...

Almost annoyed with herself for such thoughts, she threw her school books into her bag and hoisted it onto her shoulder. Really, she preferred those _other_ dreams over the one she had been so cruelly forced to witness this morning. You know, the ones with the blood and the shock of death. She scoffed as she pulled the door shut to her room.

After all, you can only lose once.

You long for an eternity.

"Hey, get your head out of the clouds, nee-chan!" Sota shouted playfully as she pushed past his sister on his way to breakfast. Kagome swore, ever since the boy had hit ten all he did was eat. She sighed. Perhaps all boys were like that.

"Don't run on the stairs!" she called after he had disappeared laughing around the corner.

"Kagome, is that you? Are you awake?" Kagome's mother called from the kitchen.

"Yes Mama," Kagome called in response as she made her way down the stairs. Though she hadn't overslept since her middle school days, her mother still always found it surprising that Kagome was up on time. The fact only served to remind Kagome that even though her world had changed so drastically, been shattered and broken, everything had still remained the same for everyone else. After all, the world kept spinning and life kept going.

"I'm so proud of you, Kagome," Kagome's mother gushed as Kagome entered the kitchen and took a seat at the breakfast table next to Sota. "My baby girl is already a senior in high school!"

Kagome blinked. She'd almost forgotten. It _was_ her first day of twelfth grade.

_I guess that dream affected me more than I thought..._ She sighed to herself as her grandfather and brother argued about something trivial yet again.

"I'd forgotten..." she responded more to herself than anyone else.

"You forgot, nee-chan? Wow, you really are out of it today!" Sota exclaimed exasperatedly as if forgetting it was the first day of school was the most blasphemous thing on earth. "When _I_ become a senior, I'm going to tell the whole world," Sota announced proudly, promptly forgetting the argument he had recently been so engaged in, "No way am I going to do something like forget it. I can't wait for it! I'm going to celebrate for days!"

"When you become a senior, you're going to have to study for entrance exams," Kagome responded pointedly, effectively dissipating his enthusiasm on the matter.

"Not like you did..." Sota muttered under his breath, stabbing at the sausage on his plate and obviously hurt over his sister's lack of enthusiasm for him.

Kagome stood up suddenly causing her chair to make a loud 'creak' as it slid across the tile floor noisily. "I'll be late," she said simply as she turned and left the room without so much as another glance towards Sota, leaving them in an awkward silence.

"Sota," Kagome's mother began half-sad and half-stern, "You should know better than to say something like that." Sota immediately regretted his words.

"I-I'll apologize when she gets home," he replied as guilt quickly overtook him.

Kagome's mother sighed and shook her head as she returned to washing dishes.

Sometimes apologizing made no difference. Sometimes the damage was already done...

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><p>Kagome walked slowly along the path she knew so well on her way to school. She was fairly early having used the excuse of time merely to escape the room and all too accurate comments she had no interest in pursuing. Of course she had learned to deal with them long ago. Middle school had just been another chapter of her life; another piece of a puzzle to be completed. Her life hadn't ended then.<p>

"_You have to promise me your life won't end here," he struggled to say as the world around them was consumed in fire, "Promise me that you won't give up."_

Kagome stopped walking suddenly. Where did _that_ come from? She shook her head almost violently as she tried to push away any and all thoughts of the past. Dreams were one thing as were simple comments. They were annoying but fairly frequent and things that she could handle. Random memories of times gone by? She almost shuddered. Those were another altogether and she did not like dealing with them at all.

"Kagome!" A friendly voice suddenly knocked her out of her train of thought. Glad for the company of someone who was ignorant to the part of her life better left forgotten, Kagome turned to meet her friends since middle school who were now enthusiastically bounding towards her. "You're early!"

"I haven't been late in years," Kagome pointed out as they reached her and the four of them begin walking together.

"There's a difference between being early and on time, Kagome," the girl closest to her replied. The other three laughed.

"Not that we really care, Ayumi," the carefree spirit with the shortest hair snorted.

"Maybe not you, Yuka, but it _is _important!" replied Ayumi, clearly poking fun at Yuka's happy-go-lucky behavior. The four dissolved into laughs once again over trivial matters. It was the way life was _supposed_ to be and yet, Kagome couldn't stop a small part of her mind from preaching the truth of the matter: she was dissatisfied.

"Hey, Kagome," Eri almost whispered as she tugged on Kagome's jacket, pulling her towards the back of the small group as Ayumi and Yuka continued their playful bickering, "Are you okay?" Kagome was caught off guard. Did she look like something was wrong? Eri caught the surprise in Kagome's eyes and quickly explained herself. "When we saw you, you were staring off into space with such a..." she paused as she thought of the right word to use, "Distant... look on your face. Is everything okay?"

Kagome was always thankful for her caring friends. They had always been with her, ever since way back in seventh grade and they could always tell when something was wrong. Kagome smiled graciously, "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking." Eri nodded, though she didn't seem completely convinced.

"Well if anything _is_ ever wrong, you know we're here for you."

"Hey, hey, what are you two doing back there?" Yuka asked over her shoulder, grinning as though she were up to something.

"What's with that look?" Eri asked, catching onto Yuka's mischievous smile as she and Kagome rejoined the small group.

"Well," she began slowly.

"What?" asked Eri impatiently. Yuka was always like this.

"It's a new year. It means new guys are just on the horizon!" Yuka exclaimed cheerily, her mind quickly consumed by fantasies of dashing young men sweeping them off their feet. Kagome had to use every ounce of willpower to keep from groaning. She hated this topic but her friends loved it and she loved them so there really was no option for her but to grit her teeth and bear it.

"Won't it be just the same set of guys as last year and year before?" asked Ayumi logically. After all, it wasn't as if they were changing schools.

Yuka swatted away her pessimism without a second thought, "There's always hope, you know."

"Hope?" questioned Eri.

"Yes, hope that you'll meet that special guy," Yuka explained as though it were commonsense, "Don't you think, Kagome?"

"Yeah...hope..." Kagome responded, not really wanting to be present for the particular conversation that was currently buzzing around her.

"You're too melancholy Kagome," Yuka commented, "We should set you up sometime!"

"No!" Kagome exclaimed. That was the absolute last thing that she wanted. For more than two years she hadn't so much as even _looked_ at any of the guys in her grade, let alone her school. Not that any of them were really worth looking at compared to...

"Its senior year, you might as well go for it!" Yuka tried to convince Kagome as they neared the school building, its large clock tower looming almost menacingly in the distance.

"I'm going to be too busy this year," Kagome replied, glad that Yuka had spoken before she could finish her previous thought. Plans for her future now were springing up before her eyes, "I don't really have time to date."

_Or want to_, she tacked on in her mind, though she knew the logical route was the easiest to go with Yuka.

"Too busy?" questioned Eri, "It's true that we have University exams but those aren't for a few months at least... so..." She paused. "Oh, it's because you're going to try for the new Undergraduate Medical Program in Tokyo, right?"

Kagome nodded, "Right." Ever since she had begun high school, Kagome was determined to dedicate herself to her studies. She was the type who was going to go out into the world and make something of her life and medical school had seemed like the perfect opportunity to do such.

"That's really hard to get into," commented Ayumi factually.

"Yeah, but I'm going to at least try," was Kagome's response, "Though I'll have to focus a lot this next year. No time really for goofing off _or_ boys." She accentuated the 'or' heavily with a hint of disgust that the others found had come to be commonplace over the past few years.

Yuka sighed. "That's too bad... I really wanted all four of us to have fun this year!"

Eri playfully hit Yuka on the shoulder. "Who says we need guys to have fun?" The four of them laughed as their conversation drifted to other matters, allowing Kagome to relax and chime in more, checking her worries about her past and times gone by at their high school's door.

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><p>Class was as exciting as ever though looking around the room, they would need a lot more than 'hope' if any of them wanted to find Mr. Special Guy. Class 12-B was filled with the same people who had been in Kagome's class the past two years with a few mix-ups for the sake of sanity. Though it wasn't as though Kagome paid much attention to any of them anyway. Outside of her group of three close friends since middle school, Kagome was scarcely a social butterfly. Not that she was cold or rude, but the outgoing and definitely outspoken girl that she had once been in middle school had all too quickly been vaporized shortly before her ninth grade graduation.<p>

"This, my dear students," the professor began, his messy black tie clashing oddly with his silver glasses as they glinted in the pale, spring morning sunlight, "Is quite possibly the most important year of your life!" He finished the statement powerfully, slapping his desk with his ruler to emphasize the point.

Kagome tapped her pencil on the desk in almost bored fashion. It was the exact same speech she had heard nearly three years ago when she was a senior in middle school. When it got to be your last year at school, the teachers always took it upon themselves to remind you of how important the next nine months of your life would be and how they would ultimately shape your very fate itself. She doodled a small flower in the top right corner of her open notebook.

"This year will be a make-it or break-it situation for many of you," he continued with stern eyes that revealed absolutely no compassion on the matter. Kagome wondered how much he actually cared. "Though for most of you failures, there is little you can do to salvage yourselves now. Nonetheless, I will do everything in my grand power to ensure that every one of you has a shot at _some sort_ of respectable future!"

"Sort of an uptight nutcase, isn't he?" Yuka whispered across the aisle to a half day-dreaming Kagome.

"Silence!" the teacher barked as he turned to scribble the day's plans on the board.

_Definitely_. Kagome answered in her mind. She gazed out the window. _Just another day...just another year..._

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><p>Everyone was overjoyed when the final bell rang. Though they had been told that senior year would be their hardest yet, they had preferred to remain in blissful ignorance, shunning thoughts of work and University applications until the very last minute which had just been so rudely interrupted by a less-than-loving teacher with a short fuse and subpar teaching methods.<p>

Kagome gathered her supplies into her bag as the rest of the class hurriedly shuffled out, glad to be free of the torture that was school.

"Some class, huh?" commented Eri as she walked over to Kagome's desk where Yuka and Ayumi had already congregated.

"Forget the class," Yuka responded, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the teacher had left the room, "What about the _teacher?"_

"He teaches senior year, can you really blame him?" asked Kagome upon finishing packing, leaving them free to leave the room, "He must be under a lot of stress."

"Stress or no stress, he's crazy."

"Hey, Higurashi!" Kagome turned abruptly to see who had called her name. It was only the first day of school, far too early for anyone to be bugging her about homework or how to do a math problem. When she realized who it was, she gave a small sigh.

"Hibei," Kagome said politely as he approached her.

"We'll let you handle this one Kagome," Yuka smirked as the four girls shuffled out of the room. Kagome wanted more than anything to disappear with them as well especially since she knew that Ryu Hibei had been particularly interested in her for almost a year now. She had to admit, she was somewhat impressed with his determination, though in the long run, that didn't change a thing about how she felt about him. And it never would.

"How did you like class?" he asked with a wink as he reached her and two began walking out.

"It was okay," replied Kagome wondering when he was going to just cut to the chase, "The same old speech we get every year though."

"Oh did you get that in ninth grade too?" Ryu laughed almost sympathetically. He had come directly from a high school feeder school for the rich and brilliant; high school exams had never really been an issue for him.

Kagome didn't bother to respond to the half-rhetorical question and the two walked in silence for a bit longer. Though she was almost completely sure that Ryu found these moments awkward, she simply found them agonizing. They seemed to stretch out until forever and while she didn't want to be outright mean, she couldn't stand the thought of leading him on. Here he was, a perfectly nice boy. And he was rich and smart and good-looking and loyal and kind and understanding and most importantly, he was wasting his time on Kagome Higurashi, the girl who could not be charmed.

"So... are you free this weekend by any chance?" Ryu finally asked after a few moments of silence, flashing a brilliant smile at Kagome.

"Sorry," replied Kagome with a light smile though eyes that spoke otherwise, "I have to help out at the shrine since grandfather will be going to the hospital for a check-up." Ryu's face fell.

"Ah well, I hope everything goes well," he replied, trying heavily to mask his gloominess.

"Thank you for your concern," said Kagome, genuinely thankful for his kindness. She felt slightly bad as she left him outside the classroom to go join her friends for the walk home. He was a great guy, really he was. He just wasn't...

Reality check.

She had stopped comparing guys to _him_ years ago.

"Kagome!" her friends squealed as she rounded a corner to find them camped out and eagerly waiting for her.

"When's the date?" Yuka asked enthusiastically, her eyes lighting up like little stars, "Do I hear wedding bells in the air?"

Kagome snorted, "Not a chance. I turned him down. Didn't I already say I would be busy this year?"

Yuka crossed her arms over her chest. "Where's the fun in that?" Kagome waved her off dismissively and the group left the school, their conversation moving to other matters before they were brought back to Kagome's least favorite subject, this time by Eri.

"Hey guys, look over there!" she said as she pointed across the street to a small traditional style looking house with a large banner.

"A fortune teller?" Ayumi questioned as she leaned forward to get a better look.

"I've never seen it before," Yuka commented, the small shop clearly having piqued each of her interest.

"Doesn't your family do fortune telling too?" Ayumi asked Kagome as they stopped to peer at the new shop.

"No, not really," answered Kagome, "Grandfather isn't really good at those things and Mama never learned how."

Eri clapped her hands together suddenly. "Then it's settled," she announced, "We're going in!"

"What?" exclaimed Kagome. Though she lived at a shrine, it was common knowledge that Kagome heavily disliked anything of the supernatural category. It had been that way ever since she was young, or so she liked to tell herself. In truth, tasteful indifference had slowly become bitter dislike over the years as fairytale-esque reminders continued to jog undead memories.

"Come on! It's a new year and it might be fun!" Eri persuaded Kagome as they pulled her towards the small fortune house, "It'll be fun!"

Kagome seriously doubted the validity of her words but for the sake of her friends decided to go quietly and sit through, what she was sure, would be a fake fortune reading. Just until the others got it out of their system.

"Welcome," came a disembodied dreamy voice as the four girls entered the lobby. The group quickly looked around to identify the speaker. Kagome recognized where she was first. There was something strange about her that almost drew Kagome in...

"You are here to get a reading?" the woman asked through half-lidded eyes as she appeared in the doorway to the backroom, a long violet robe flowing down and around her.

"Yes please," replied Eri who was closest to her, "If we could."

The woman's eyes drifted over the group, surveying each one of the girls for a few moments before moving on to the next. Kagome thought she seemed to be looking for something as her onyx eyes retained patient indifference, gazing at Eri then Yuka and Ayumi and finally coming to rest on Kagome, herself. At that moment, Kagome could have sworn she heard a faint 'aha' in the distance, though no one in the small, cramped fortune house had said a thing.

"Very well," she finally replied, turning away from the girls and heading back into the backroom. "I will see the one with the long hair first," her dreamy voice drifted into the lobby as she disappeared from view.

"Looks like you're up, Kagome," Yuka said, giving Kagome a small push, "Good luck!"

Kagome entered the backroom without responding to Yuka, still pondering the strange utterance she thought she heard. The overwhelming scent of incense hit her and cleared her pondering thoughts as she entered, however, leaving room in her mind for only what was to come. In the center of the room, the older woman was sitting, hunched over a small table with two chairs, one for herself and the other for the customer. She motioned for Kagome to sit and Kagome followed her instruction without a word.

"Your name?" the woman asked as she drew patterns on the ivory colored tabletop.

"Kagome Higurashi," Kagome responded easily. The woman's eyes suddenly snapped up to observe Kagome.

"Such confidence," she commented, giving Kagome a toothy smile, "Yes, yes, it seems I was right about you." Kagome wasn't the least bit interested in her reading or curious as to just exactly what the woman was right about. She just wanted her fake reading about how she would 'meet the love of her life' or 'become famous' or whatever it was so that she could get out of there. The woman blinked as though she were waiting for Kagome's answer to an unasked question but continued when all she was greeted with was silence.

"Hold out your hand," she instructed, holding out her own and motioning for Kagome to place their hands together.

"Something extraordinary is about to happen," the woman began her prediction as she held onto Kagome's left hand, "The past is about to get even with you." This piqued Kagome's interest. She gave the woman a puzzled look.

"Get even with me?" she questioned. The woman smiled wide, clearly happy that Kagome was taking an interest in the reading.

"Yes," she replied giving a short not. She released Kagome's hand for a short second to reach under the table and pull out a small, polished, oak box with a strange engraving on it that Kagome had sworn she'd seen before. She opened it carefully and pulled out a fine red thread that Kagome could only see when the light caught it just right. Slowly, she grabbed Kagome's hand again and pulled it forward, exposing Kagome's wrist from inside her school uniform jacket. Kagome watched as the woman tied the thread around her wrist, a small grin playing on the old woman's lips.

"Yes, indeed," she spoke, her eyes still steady on the thread, "After all, fate has a way."

Kagome thought for a split moment to pull her hand away though she couldn't. Something about that moment had transfixed her so completely. Something about her words had made her want to believe them, to want them to come true. And something about that red thread reminded her so much of something that she could never have again.

"A way of what?" Kagome asked softly.

The woman finished tying the thread and released Kagome's hand before looking up into her eyes to answer, "A way of coming back to you. And a way of getting even."

And the red thread disappeared almost instantly though Kagome could still feel its featherlike weight on her wrist.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well that was a rather long chapter. Haha. I wrote it over several days (this is starting to become a habit now...) and spent a good amount of time revising and editing it so I hope everything turned out well. Did it flow well? Was it a good sort of introduction? Is Kagome somewhat likeable... at least a little? ^^;;; Ah well, we'll see how it all goes down soon enough. See you in chapter three!**

**Reviews are always welcome. :D**


	3. Fateful Encounters

**A/N: Here we are at chapter three, everybody! Whoo~ Haha. First off, thanks to everyone who's supported the story so far! As promised, here is the next chapter in a nice timely fashion. Oh, a quick heads up on the rating of this story! Right now it's rated T and really it has no reason to be rated higher, but I'm thinking that eventually I might have to bump it up to M... not entirely sure though, so keep on the alert for that. In any event, the next couple of chapters will be kept at a T level.**

**Now, without further ado, please enjoy~**

* * *

><p><span>Fateful Encounters<span>

* * *

><p>Kagome sat on her bed, surveying her left wrist for about the hundredth time, wondering exactly what it had all meant.<p>

"_The past is about to get even with you. After all, fate has a way of coming back to you. And getting even."_

The fortune teller's words buzzed in her ears and afterwards, she had wanted so badly to forget them. To forget the strange encounter, to forget the weird invisible red string, to forget the whole thing entirely. But something about the whole thing bugged her, nagged her until she couldn't stand it any longer. She had to know what the red string meant.

After the fortune teller had made the odd statement about what was presumably, Kagome's future, Kagome had tried to ask what she had meant and just exactly what the red string was. However, the old woman had merely smiled at her and shook her head, telling her the future could not be read to the dot. It was not an exact art though Kagome was assured that she would know when she saw it.

This had not particularly satisfied Kagome's curiosity though the woman had shooed her out quickly before telling the other girls she was suddenly overcome with mental fatigue and had to close the shop. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had all stared at Kagome with wide eyes as the four of them had left the shop and as soon as they were out the door, they began questioning her.

"_What sort of fortune was it?"_

"_Did she have a lot to say?"_

"_Was it that good?"_

They had shot her about twenty questions each before she had finally told them that the prediction hadn't been anything at all. She was resigned to believe that the whole thing was fake even though she could still feel the infinitesimal weight of thread on her left wrist.

She sighed and flopped over backwards on her bed. Lying sprawled on her bed, she attempted to find patterns in the cracks in the ceiling. Wasn't she done with the fairytale life? Wasn't she past myths and spirits and all that? She felt herself glancing over to her wrist again and silently cursed herself for remaining curious about such a thing.

Oh well. She would put it out of her mind. For all she knew, the fortune teller could have been completely wrong. Dead wrong, in fact.

She let out another sigh and let herself drift off to sleep.

Dead wrong... dead...

* * *

><p>She was kneeling in the dirt.<p>

Pounding at the ground with her fist; waiting for something—anything—to make sense through the blinding pain that was quickly overtaking her, swirling around in her mind—making her vision go red and her throat dry.

From far away, it seemed as though someone was calling. Though what they were saying exactly, she couldn't tell. It all seemed so different, so odd, as though it should be forgotten immediately but there it was on the tip of her tongue.

And the ground felt so cold against the flesh of her legs as blackness threatened to wash over her and claim her for its own.

"Don't do that!" someone's voice echoed in the distance, "Put it down!" And all at once, she realized she was holding something cold and sharp in her hand.

A set of strong hands were suddenly on her shoulders, shaking her back and forth almost desperately and for a short moment, the reality of the situation gripped at her forcefully, pushing away the numbness that had been instilled in her bones.

"Please, don't do that..." the voice begged, full of worry and concern which triggered her heart to break once again and tears to spill from her eyes as she collapsed into the set of arms. "He wouldn't want you to do that," the voice was now struggling to comfort her, barely able to say the words they both knew were true without choking on grief.

She suddenly felt enraged by their words. Enraged and strangely protective as if she and only she alone knew his most secret thoughts and inner caverns of his now still heart. And as if now that he was forever gone, only she was allowed to hang onto his memory. "Don't!" she wanted to shout, "You don't know what he wanted! Don't pretend like you do!" Though there was no point and her voice was frozen in her throat.

"I'm sorry..." The whisper was quietly drowned out by a sudden summer rainstorm.

And the dirt turned into mud as raindrops on her cheeks joined those that had been born from her endless grief.

* * *

><p>Kagome awoke groggy and with a sting in her eye that she hadn't felt for years. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she sat up on her bed, aloofly wondering just when she had drifted off. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was near dinnertime and that she would have to help her mother in the kitchen soon. "And then probably stay up late doing homework," she tacked on almost bitterly, yawning and stretching as visions of her latest dream flickered from beyond her closed eyelids.<p>

Just because she had wished to dream about something of that nature didn't mean her wish _had_ to come true so suddenly. She glanced at her wrist as she climbed off her bed and made her way to the door. Still no sign of the thread or string or whatever it was that the fortune teller had placed on her. With a little luck and practiced repressing, she could forget that it had ever happened. After all, what good could come of her past? Whether it wanted to get even with her or not, it was gone and over with. And it had been a long, long time since she'd shed tears for any of that nonsense...

Before having made a final decision on just what exactly she wanted to do with regard to the fortune teller's words, she found herself in the kitchen, face to face with her mother.

"Oh Kagome, you're awake," she said as a small smile seized her features at her daughter's entrance.

"Sorry Mama, I didn't mean to sleep for so long," Kagome responded, pulling on her apron. Cooking dinner with her mother had become a daily ritual over the past couple of years and a way to block out reality. A way to bond with her mother and Sota before he had become too old and manly to be caught dead with a soup ladle in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. And though Kagome had told him that being a good cook was a sure fire way to get girls, he had brushed off her comments with a scowl, refusing to come within ten feet of the kitchen between mealtimes.

"Don't apologize," said Kagome's mother cheerily, "You must have been tired after a long day at school." Kagome nodded. A long day at school and bizarre half-fortunes, half-mysteries from a woman who made her living working with spirits and legends, things Kagome would be better off forgetting. Not that she could, exactly...

_Ring ring ring_

A loud ringing suddenly filled the room causing Kagome to nearly drop the sack of potatoes she was about to hand to her mother. "Oh that new phone..." Kagome's mother muttered to herself, "I keep telling Grandfather to change the setting on it. I swear, every time it goes off, it nearly gives me a heart attack." She made to head for the living room to answer the phone but Kagome stopped her.

"I'll do it Mama," Kagome offered, recovering from her near heart-attack as well. As she made her way between rooms she let a stray thought slip which she quickly retracted before it could register in her conscious mind. All these dreams were unearthing memories better left dead.

"Higurashi residence," Kagome answered as she picked up the phone, silencing its incessant noise.

"You always answer so formally Kagome," laughed Eri's voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi Eri," Kagome responded, ignoring her friend's jovial remark, "What's up?"

"I wanted to be the first to tell you," Eri announced happily on the other end piquing Kagome's interest.

"Of what?" she asked.

"The Welcoming Committee is being assembled tomorrow morning thirty minutes before school," Eri explained, her voice still glib with glee. Kagome waited for her friend to continue, not wanting to spoil her good mood. The two spent a moment in silence together before Eri continued, catching on to Kagome's lack of enthusiasm on the matter. "Do you want to join?" she asked, gently nudging for an answer.

Kagome had been a part of the Welcoming Committee religiously in elementary and middle school however, upon entering high school, she had given the hospitable duties up. Eri, who had also been a part of the club with her since they were twelve, had continued the tradition through eleventh grade. She, like the rest of their dear friends, had been heartbroken to see the sudden change in the once lively girl when they had become high school students and was especially gloomy to see Kagome give up the club. For two years, she had let the topic lie dead and forgotten but now, since it was their last year, she felt the urge to try and persuade her dear friend into joining her once again.

"Sorry Eri," came the dreaded response as Eri slumped a bit in her chair and Kagome played with the message pad next to the phone, "But no thank you."

"Oh, that's okay," replied Eri, her disappointment clearly evident in her voice, "I'll see you tomorrow morning then!"

"Thanks for the offer," Kagome added though she knew it wouldn't serve to erase the disappointment her friend was now feeling.

"Don't worry about it. Bye!" And with that, the line went dead, leaving Kagome feeling slightly guilty and oddly empty.

_It's the dream_, she decided as she made her way back to the kitchen, her mother asking her who had been on the phone. _And stupid memories of him that just won't go away..._

Though she couldn't help but feel that she should have said yes to Ayumi. As if that would make fate hurry up a bit faster...

* * *

><p>When Kagome awoke the next morning she was glad not to have had any significant dreams about <em>him<em>. Sure, of course the feelings were there. They were always there... the half-faded memories that danced in her mind as she drifted off into unconsciousness. But on rare occasions when the pictures did not string together to become a vivid reliving of the distant past but rather remained disjointed, dusty, still frames, she found herself somewhat happy that she had been allowed a more or less peaceful night.

"Bye Mama!" she called, exiting through her front door and casually making her way past the long abandoned well house, towards the steps that led down from the family shrine to the main street. For the second time in a row, she wasn't just on time: she was early.

"Hey nee-chan!" she heard Sota shout from behind her, as he ran up to her, slightly out of breath.

"You should really work out more, Sota," Kagome observed.

"Yeah, yeah," he grunted as he caught up to her, "I wanted to apologize though."

Kagome blinked. "For what?"

Sota rolled his eyes. "For yesterday morning. Geez nee-chan, at least when you're angry _stay_ angry. Apathy shouldn't work like that even." Kagome shooed her troublesome brother away with as much emotion as she would allow.

"I look forward to meeting the guy that breaks you out of it, nee-chan!" he called as he playfully dodged her attempts and disappeared out of view, still waving.

Kagome rolled her eyes slightly and continued on her way. As she made her way to the red gate that marked the entrance to the Higurashi shrine she noticed her grandfather standing with a broom a few yards away and she remembered that with the beginning of the new school year, also came the shrine's busiest season. She paused a moment to see what he was up to as he was standing with what appeared to be a young woman with oddly colored hair that seemed to gleam far too light in the morning sun. Upon further inspection, however, she realized that the woman wasn't quite so young after all but rather in her late forties and seemed to be asking for help.

"Yes, yes," Kagome's grandfather muttered to himself, nodding his head as if he knew exactly what the situation meant, "I understand."

"I'm worried," the woman said, her voice light and airy, "As you see he is my only son. My husband and I thought that moving to this country would solve our troubles, but I still feel as though that aura has followed us." The woman let her eyes drift down, her expression clearly sullen and filled with worry.

"Yes, yes, a proper purification is in order. We can perform it here at the temple. Tell me, do you have any of his possessions on hand?" asked Kagome's grandfather, setting aside the broom.

"Yes," the woman answered as she fumbled through her purse and pulled out a small object that Kagome couldn't quite see, "He's not possessed is he?" A look of dire worry stretched across her features and Kagome couldn't help but feel a pang of empathy for the woman though their situations were completely different.

"I cannot say," answered the old man, his fingers closing around the trinket, "But I assure you this will solve all your problems." Holding the object between his hands, he closed his eyes and begin to chant, focusing on the object and what he thought were his own spiritual powers.

"You're doing it wrong, Gramps," Kagome observed quietly under her breath as she passed by the pair, not outright looking at either of them.

"Excuse you missie! As if you could do better!" Kagome's grandfather begin to shout before opening his eyes and realizing it was Kagome who had critiqued his less-than-effective method of purification. "Oh, Kagome," he said surprised though she didn't turn to offer a more productive method of purification or anything of the sort.

The woman's eyes drifted to Kagome, her attention on the shrine keeper momentarily broken and a small gasp escaped her lips. Kagome took no notice, however and begin her descent down the stairs. "Excuse me!" the woman called, rushing forward a bit to catch up with Kagome's retreating figure.

Kagome turned to face the woman, her eyes widening a little bit as she realized that the woman had probably heard what she had said. "Oh, I'm sorry ma'am," she apologized, still a bit caught off guard, "I'm the shrine keeper's granddaughter, that's all. I don't know how to do a purification any better." She was lying of course but only if you were being practical about it. In truth, that girl—the one who had been able to purify even the most sinister of beings in this world—had died nearly two years ago.

The woman stopped before Kagome, shaking her head lightly as the two women faced each other. "No, that's not it," she replied, as if her previous worries had been erased. She surveyed Kagome's face clearly, as if looking for something. Kagome suddenly felt very awkward being inspected as such and was about to say something when the woman sighed as if distraught before shaking her head slowly. "Have we met before?" she asked.

Kagome blinked and answered slowly, "No, I don't believe so, ma'am." She racked her brain for any memory of the woman but she was drawing a blank. The woman was obviously confused.

The woman's deep blue eyes fell a little. "You seem familiar," she said almost musingly as though it were not a statement directed at Kagome. Kagome shook her head again.

"I don't think we've met before," she assured the woman. The woman's gaze lingered for a moment as if she were trying to decide whether or not to believe Kagome before she settled on a decision and apologized. "It's alright," replied Kagome as she turned to make her way to school leaving the woman and her grandfather on the steps of the shrine in continued discussion of their earlier affairs.

_What was that all about?_ Kagome wondered to herself as she walked down the city's streets she knew so well. It wasn't as though Kagome was terribly unique looking. She was an average Japanese girl with long dark hair and of average height. Her only unique feature, really, was her eye color, a pale cobalt though even _that_ wasn't all that unique. Lightly suppressed memories of people confusing her for someone else flitted through her mind and she sighed. She hadn't been reminded of those in quite some time...

Up ahead she saw Yuka and Ayumi waiting at a traffic light and she waved to them, suddenly anxious to lose herself in high school life.

"Hey Kagome!" Yuka called, waving enthusiastically, a grin plastered on her face.

"Good morning," cheered Ayumi, looking similarly ecstatic. As Kagome neared her two friends, she wondered what exactly they were so happy about. Kagome supposed that the answer lay in Yuka's hand.

"Watching something?" Kagome asked as she approached the two, motioning to the camcorder in Yuka's hand.

Yuka handed the small camera to Kagome and proceeded to tell her story. "I got a call from Eri last night about the Welcoming Committee," she explained as the light changed to red and the three traversed across the crosswalk on their way to school, "And it reminded me of ninth grade when we were all in the club together. So I did some digging and found this!"

Kagome stared down at the small screen of the camcorder. The frozen image was of her, nearly three years younger, wearing her old middle school uniform and a wide smile on her face. Ayumi reached over and took the camera from her, pressing play so that the three could watch.

"_This is Kagome Higurashi of class 3-B and—" the mini Kagome giddily chimed from the camcorder before being cut off by an exuberant mini Yuka._

"_Hey Kagome! Don't hog all the spotlight!" shouted Yuka playfully, as she rushed into the frame._

_Laughing from a voice far too close to the camera filled the frame. "Don't fight you guys! Save the energy for the new guys!" It was Eri's voice. She was probably acting as camerawoman for the day._

"_Oh yeah, new guys, that's right," said Yuka, winking at Kagome. Kagome shoved her impishly before the two girls broke into laughter._

"_Hey guys, the new students are coming!" warned Ayumi, running into the shot waving her arms._

"_Alright! Listen up!" Kagome said forcefully, clapping her hands together. The camera shot panned out revealing a large group of about twenty students—the old Welcoming Committee from middle school. "We have a job to do and we're going to do it right! Is that clear?"_

"_Yes President Kagome!" the students chimed back devotedly._

"_Alright then! Let's get—"_

"Turn that off," Kagome advised, almost solemnly though her two friends were giddy with reminisces of their middle school days. Ayumi looked up to see Kagome staring off in the distance blankly. How much she'd changed...

Kagome refused to recognize the girl on the screen as her. Furthermore, she didn't want to look back at that time. The girl on the screen was so upbeat, so full of life, so full of...

She sighed.

The girl on the screen was dead.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Where's your friend, Eri?" Ryu shouted, coming up behind the girl and startling her. Eri almost dropped the stack of flyers she was holding.<p>

"She's not here," replied Eri mildly annoyed. Ryu may have been the cutest, most charming guy in school, but sometimes he was just a little bit too cocky for his own good.

Ryu crossed his arms over his chest, seeming very displeased.

"President Eri! The new students are coming!" a first year student shouted from across the lawn as a bus pulled up to the school.

"Alright!" Eri shouted back before nodding to Ryu and heading over to where a horde of new students were now exiting the bus.

Ryu exhaled noisily as his friend, Kenji approached him. "Hey Ryu, why hang around here?" asked Kenji, a look of serious confusion on his face. He couldn't, for the life of him, understand why Ryu would want to come to school early and hang around the Welcoming Committee.

"I was looking for someone," Ryu replied absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the crowd.

"Looking for someone..." Kenji repeated slowly before a light went off somewhere in the back of his brain, "Oh Higurashi!" Ryu gave a small nod, still not fully acknowledging his friend's presence. "Why?" Kenji asked, seriously, "I mean, I know you've had a crush on her for the past year or so, but why are you looking for her here? She's not the type to do these sorts of things..."

"I heard that she used to be on the Welcoming Committee in middle school," Ryu replied.

"Really?" Kenji sounded shocked, "Wow, she sure has changed since then."

"I think she was sick a lot in middle school," commented Ryu.

"And she's still sick, or something?" asked Kenji. Ryu sighed.

"I suppose that's what changed her," he said, not quite answering Kenji's question. Kenji looked at his friend with the same amount of confusion. None of this really made sense to him. Ryu turned away from the Welcoming Committee rather abruptly and headed for the school.

"And I'm going to be the one to change her back."

* * *

><p>Kagome was caught off guard by a more than animated Eri as she bounded across the field towards them.<p>

"Guys! Guys!" she called eagerly, waving to them.

"Morning," Yuka called back as the four friends reunited outside the school, "You sure look happy."

Eri stopped in front of them, bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"I, just, got, back, from the, Welcoming Committee," she huffed out, panting hard as a result from having to run around the school all morning.

"Something interesting happen?" asked Ayumi, reaching over to make sure Eri was okay.

"I saw this really, really, _really_ hot guy," she announced, standing straight up. Yuka outright laughed while Ayumi giggled and Kagome sighed. "No really Kagome," Eri insisted as the four girls entered the school building and headed for their second floor first period class, "He was _amazing_."

"Amazing, Eri? This is a _guy_ we're talking about, right Eri?" asked Yuka, still laughing though the girls knew she was anxious to hear Eri's story.

"Definitely," replied Eri.

"Well I'm not all that interested," replied Kagome, starting up the stairs, "You remember what I said yester—" Her thought ended in midsentence as something suddenly pulled on her left wrist, causing her to lose her balance and trip over the next step.

"Kagome!" her three friends squealed as she tumbled forwards, landing on the steps. Oh that was just _perfect_. She had actually tripped _up the stairs._ She slowly pushed herself up off the ground as a dull pain spread through her legs, arms and stomach which had all come into painful contact with the ground. It had been a long, long time since she had tripped and she wasn't particularly used to the feeling. Surveying her limbs for any cuts of bruises, she was suddenly stopped as a voice far too familiar ripped through the air, causing her to freeze and her heart to skip a beat.

"Clumsy as ever, wench."

Kagome was afraid to look up. She was afraid to lift her head towards the source of the voice and gaze upon the speaker. She was afraid because it sounded so much like him, so much like _him_!

She was scared of what she would see and yet, curiosity nagged at her heart and she felt her body move without her brain fully working. The next thing she knew, her eyes were locked with his and a strange surreal feeling overtook her as her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She swallowed hard as her mind spun, trying to fully process everything she was seeing.

Standing there, at the top of the stairs was a young man, a new student from the look of it, whom she had never seen before.

No, she _had_ seen him before. And that's what made the moment so strange, so surreal, so exciting and so... amazing.

He was about six feet tall with shoulder length black hair and dark eyes that screamed distrust, though for what, Kagome didn't know. He wore his school uniform not necessarily messily but rather rebelliously and was standing with his hands in his pockets and his face twisted into a mocking sneer that immediately ignited something in Kagome. Something that she hadn't felt for a long, long time.

Immediately she felt the need to respond to his rude comment. "I am not clumsy!" she snapped back. Her friends immediately stopped fawning over her, frozen in their places. Had Kagome actually _snapped_ at someone? She hadn't done that since middle school.

Kagome was caught off guard by her own reaction as well. The words that had slipped from her mouth, the tone that had poured from her heart, it was all so foreign to her, though at the same time so familiar. Just like the boy who now stood before her, drudging up memories of her past and splattering them back together in a messy pattern that just didn't seem to make sense.

"And that would explain why you're now sitting on your ass in a stairwell," the boy replied sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest, refusing to break eye contact with Kagome.

Kagome held her breath.

No... it just couldn't be.

It _wasn't_.

Unfortunately, the little spectacle in the stairwell had attracted quite a crowd, and Kagome suddenly found herself the center of attention from students at both the bottom and top of the stairs. "Hey Takahashi!" a student called from near the boy, "Come on!"

Without another word to Kagome, the boy—Takahashi—turned and disappeared amongst the now quickly growing crowd, leaving Kagome stunned in the small staircase.

"Hey Kagome," Yuka called, waving her hand in front of Kagome's face, "Are you okay?" Ayumi and Eri helped her to her feet as the crowd dissipated, now pushing past her on their way to class.

"I'm fine," Kagome choked out, her mind still reeling.

_Who _was_ that boy?_

"Um, Kagome," Eri said sheepishly as the three made their way up the stairs, Eri holding Kagome's hand to make sure she wouldn't fall again. "This might not be the right time to mention it but that was him."

Yuka gasped, "Shut up Eri. _That_ was the new student?"

Kagome felt her heart speed up and her brain buzz. So he _was_ a new student.

Eri nodded and Yuka whistled, "I'll never insult the Welcoming Committee again."

Eri rolled her eyes and the four entered their classroom. Almost immediately, Kagome's heart sped up again. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when her eyes met with the boy's once again.

He was sitting on a desk, near the front of the room, jovially chatting away with some of the kids of the class who had become his 'group' in the short time that he had been on campus. He hadn't really been paying attention to the people coming in, but when he saw the stupid look on her face, he just couldn't help but make a comment. "You look like a dumb fish with your damn eyes bulging out like that," he sneered from across the room. A few of his group snickered loudly enraging Yuka who shot them an angry glare.

Kagome, however, wasn't enraged by the encounter. Something pulled at her heartstrings, causing grief to overcome her rather than anger and for a brief second she thought she might cry though with great effort, she banished the feelings. But he just reminded her so much of _him_... was it possible that he...was..._him_?

"Sit down! Sit down!" barked the teacher angrily, as he stormed past the four girls to his desk, smacking the ruler on the chalkboard to gather attention. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi quickly made their way to their seats, pulling the still-partially frozen Kagome along. The stern teacher took one look around the room, surveying it with hints of disgust in his eyes before he sighed greatly. "It seems we have a new student," he sighed as he ushered the mysterious boy to the front of the room, "Come, come. Introduce yourself."

The boy got to his feet with a certain swag that made the girls swoon, the guys clap and Kagome want to choke out of shock. Quickly, though dominantly, he strode to the front of the room where he turned to face the class. "The name's Takahashi Takato," he declared, snidely, "Mess with me and I'll fuck you up."

"Mr. Takahashi!" the teacher roared, irate that the new student would use such language. Takato merely continued to sneer as his gaze wandered to where Kagome was sitting. Kagome felt herself go stiff under his gaze and her breathing quickened. She parted her lips slightly, as if the question that was being screamed in her head could not be suppressed any longer.

_Are you him?_

"Still looking like a dumb bitch," Takato commented snidely, as he made his way past her desk back to his seat.

This snapped Kagome out of her trance momentarily, long enough for her to make a retort. "I am not a dumb bitch!" she nearly shouted in his direction, standing to face him.

"Miss Higurashi!" the teacher shouted, his ruler threatening to snap under the pressure he was applying. Today was really not his day.

Takato snickered and turned to face her, "You could have fooled me, bitch"

"I said, I am not a bitch!" Kagome exclaimed, ignoring the teacher who was still trying to gain control of them, "You don't even know me!"

Takato looked her up and down, making it obvious as a sneer settled in on his features, "Not that I'd _want_ to."

"MISS HIGURASHI! MR. TAKAHASHI! DETENTION!" the teacher bellowed, his patience spent.

Kagome suddenly realized what she had been doing and that all eyes were now on her. A light tint of pink settled on her as she quickly took her seat, refusing to look at anyone in the class. All around her, she could hear whispers and gossip flying about. Just what exactly had gotten into her, she didn't know. She also didn't know who exactly this Takato Takahashi was. But she did know one thing for sure, she was _going _to find out.

She tossed a quick glance over her shoulder to where he was sitting to see him haughtily staring back at her. Her cheeks flushed with both embarrassment and anger again and she immediately returned to facing the front of the classroom.

Even if it meant spending detention with him, she was going to find out exactly who he was.

She owed _him _that much, at least.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whew. Another **_**long**_** chapter. Haha. As a result, chapter four won't be as long... well at least, I'm planning for it not to be that long... but then again anything can happen. ^^;**

**So, some feedback **_**would be nice**_** you know... not that I'm desperate or anything... ^^;;; But in all seriousness, without reviews, I can't tell what needs improvement and I would really love some feedback~ If not, don't blame me when things get crazy... as they no doubt will especially since Takato is here. Ha, but don't expect everything to get cleared up so easily just because he's FINALLY made his appearance! Kagome has a long, long, **_**long**_** way to go before (and if...) she gets her happy ending. :)**

**See you in chapter four, everybody!**


	4. Reality's Sting

**A/N: Well here we are, finally at chapter four! I have to apologize for the delay in updating. June was crazy-hectic with finals and the end of school and then in July I was struck with this horrible inability to write... I tried to write this chapter back in early July but that didn't end too well... I ended up just writing a oneshot instead... ^^ (Promise to Say Hello). I decided that I couldn't just leave this fic hanging on chapter three like that forever though, so I tried again a few days ago and I ended up with this... not my best work () but, it'll do to move the story along. So, please enjoy~ :D**

**Oh, one more actually important note! I accidentally mixed up two of Kagome's friends in terms of naming in chapter three (whoops! This is what I get for not researching before writing...). The chapter has been edited accordingly. For my loyal readers so far, just note that **_**Eri**_** is part of the Welcoming Committee, not Ayumi (as I had switched those two...). ^^ Okay, read on! :D**

**And as always, thank you to all supporters and reviewers. Much love you guys~**

* * *

><p><span>Reality's Sting<span>

* * *

><p>"<em>No, it can't be!"<em>

Running through a sparse forest.

"_No, I won't accept it!" _

The sound of many paws, beating at the dirt, just yards away. Coming. Faster.

Faster.

"_You're lying!" _

Jagged rocks splattered with blood that mixes with tears as a girl lies at the bottom of a ravine.

Broken.

"_It's a lie...it's a lie..." _

Sobs can't save you now.

"_I'll always protect you..."_

A lie is all you have...

"Miss Higurashi!"

A sharp smack of a worn wooden ruler brought Kagome back to reality as it slapped at her desk furiously, missing her resting head by inches. She had been dozing in the afternoon warmth that filled the classroom, half-remembering events from long ago when her teacher had noticed her lack of attentiveness. "I have never had a student behave so poorly as you on their first day back in classes," the stony eyed teacher, Mr. Kudake, spoke in a drawling tone, eyeing Kagome with both disgust and contempt, "Should I raise your detention to two hours instead of one?"

"If one cannot be loved, they must make themselves feared," Yuka whispered to no one in particular at the next desk over. Mr. Kudake quickly rounded on her, his beady eyes looking odd as they bulged unnaturally from their sockets, threatening to knock his glasses off of his reddening face.

"What was that?" he nearly shouted, though upon turning he realized that nearly half the class was asleep. Fuming, he stomped towards his desk and smacked the ruler down hard once again. "This class is a disgrace to the Japanese educational system!" he exclaimed.

"Sure, blame the class," Takato said snidely, loud enough for Mr. Kudake to hear. Slowly, Mr. Kudake turned to look at Takato, narrowing his eyes in revulsion. And to think, they had only been together for one day. It was slightly impressive...

"Enough," Mr. Kudake enunciated, his voice barely above a whisper, "Quiet study from now until the end of class. If I hear so much as a peep out of anyone, it'll be a month's worth of detention. For _all _of you!" He was still staring at Takato as he made his threat which only served to heighten both the tension in the room and the severity of his words. Takato gave a snide scowl at the warning but proceeded to pull out his grammar book and read rather than insight the fury of the low, cowardly man, Kudake, and earn himself more unneeded and wasted time in detention.

Across the room, Kagome also proceeded to draw out her book and open it to the designated page though she couldn't bring herself to concentrate on the words within. Moments after Takato had made his first appearance to her that morning, her mind had been swimming with theories...ideas...dangerous ones that she had long ago buried, hidden away under lock and key in a special part of her mind that had been off-limits for many years. Any thoughts of his return...any thoughts of seeing him again. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. She was allowing herself to do it again. She was allowing herself false hope in a hopeless and bleak situation.

But she couldn't help it. Not when someone who might as well be his doppelganger, save the more demonic features, was sitting just seats away from her. And in her twelfth grade homeroom, at that!

Her mind wandered back to the rather nasty memory she had been reliving just before Kudake had interrupted it.

Those days had been the worst.

The ones right after...

Her mind flitted from visions of a shadowy figure standing at the top of a precipice to a field that smelled of acid and rotting flesh. Littered with bones.

Behind her, she heard a small cough which speedily brought her back to the present.

That was then and this was now, of course. And what was then was surely over.

Though, she still owed it to the girl who had stood in that field so long ago to determine who exactly Takato Takahashi was. She made up her mind, nodding to herself resolutely. After all, if it was him—if it was _really_ him, she'd know it. She always did, after all.

Gingerly, she glanced sideways to look at Takato. He was milling through his book, flipping pages in a bored manner and making his ennui clearly known to everyone in the room. And perhaps enjoying every minute of it as he paused every few moments to shoot smirks at those who were watching him with fascination. Kagome scrunched up her nose; she didn't remember him being so selfishly arrogant.

"_Well, I don't need your help anyway, stupid girl! So just go home and leave me the fuck alone!" _

Kagome couldn't help but smile slightly. Maybe she could remember the arrogance... But selfishness was something completely new for him. Or was she just trying to pull out reasons to disprove her theory even if there were none there?

_RING_

A loud ringing filled the room, signaling that it was time for lunch. Quickly, students shot up from their desks, determined to escape from Mr. Kudake's clutches, bound for the sanctuary known as the cafeteria.

Kagome followed the crowd, moving slightly slower than the rest of the pack, meeting up with her friends at the door. They walked in silence for a few minutes as if gauging when the correct time to bring up their own theories would be. Finally, Yuka took the initiative to speak, her eyes glinting in their familiarly mischievous way, "Well girls, I think there's only one theory and one theory alone to explain the insanity of this morning." Ayumi and Eri instinctively leaned closer to their friend who had been speaking in barely a whisper, intent on knowing what this mysterious "theory" of hers was. Kagome, on the other hand, was barely paying attention, if at all. Her mind was still swimming with images of the two guys: Takato and him, comparing them side by side, looking for some flaw in the perfect way they seemed to fit.

"It's simple girls," Yuka announced, glib that Ayumi and Eri were paying her so much attention as Kagome's aloofness was often present in their small gossiping circles, "Kagome's in love with Takahashi Takato."

That surely got Kagome's attention.

"What?" Kagome exclaimed, clearly shocked, as they entered the cafeteria. "What did you just say?" she was staring at Yuka, wide-eyed, "You're joking, right?"

"Well, I wouldn't call that little love tryst earlier a joke," replied Yuka offhandedly as they took their seats at their usual table; Ayumi then Yuka followed by Eri and Kagome. Yuka chose not to look at Kagome but instead at her lunch bag which she was slowly opening.

"Love tryst?" Kagome repeated, her eyes still wide, "What love tryst?"

"Now, now, Yuka," Eri quickly interjected, placing a hand on both Kagome's and Yuka's shoulders, "Can we save the playful teasing for later? Kagome looks like she has something serious on her mind." She turned to Kagome, "And Yuka didn't mean anything by it, did you Yuka?"

Yuka let out a laugh as Ayumi shook her head, letting out a sigh as she did, "Well you can't blame me! Kagome made it so easy!"

"What do you mean?" asked Kagome, slightly nervous.

"You were acting oddly this morning," Ayumi observed slowly.

Yuka nodded and added, "Yeah, much more animated than we've seen you in a long time."

"He insulted me!" Kagome protested though she had a feeling her reasoning would be either a) shot down or b) overlooked.

"He was certainly paying _you_ a lot of attention," replied Yuka as though she had suddenly made notice of the fact.

"And you were paying him a lot of attention too!" squealed Ayumi, every word making to corroborate Yuka's theory more and more.

Kagome paused, her mouth slightly ajar as Ayumi's words registered. She turned to Eri and pleadingly asked, "I was?"

Eri merely put both her hands on Kagome's shoulders and made to comfort her. "What's bothering you, Kagome?"

"Well, now this is," admitted Kagome, folding both arms on the table in front of her, and resting her chin on them, looking solemnly defeated. "He's just another guy, isn't he?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Well, duh, of course he's just another guy," replied Yuka, picking at her food with sharp eyes, "Though he sure is a hot one!" Eri rolled her eyes and Ayumi lightly elbowed Yuka. "What? It's not like you don't think that too!" Yuka shot back defensively. Ayumi stuck her tongue out at her friend and the two quickly proceeded to poking each other to accompany their mock argument.

"Are you scared to move on?" Eri suddenly asked out of the blue. Yuka and Ayumi abruptly ceased their mini-war to face Kagome, their faces falling quick as memories of the middle school tragedy filled their minds. Kagome didn't answer, but instead, continued to stare at her food with intense absorption. "It's okay to move on," Eri offered in consolation with a chorus of "yeah"s and "of course"s from Yuka and Ayumi.

"I've moved on," Kagome replied hollowly, though a touch of insincerity lingered in her words.

Eri pulled her friend into a hug.

"Moving on doesn't mean forgetting."

"_I'll never forget you..."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Inuyasha, what's that?"<em>

"_Huh? What, where?" _

"_That up there. At the top of the tree." _

"_Oh that... it's not important, come on, the monk and Sango will be looking for us. Not to mention the annoying brat..." _

"_But why is it up there? It wasn't there before." _

"_I told you it's not important. Why don't you just drop it?"_

"_Because you're hiding something." _

"_Feh." _

"_What is it?" _

"_You really wanna know?" _

"_Yes." _

"_Really?"_

"_Yes!" _

"_Fine, but you're not going to like it." _

"_Oh please, just tell me!" _

"_It's..." _

"Please read from page forty-two, Mr. Moriyama," Mr. Kudake's voice rang out clearly, "The rest of the class will promptly follow along!" Kagome hazily glanced down at the book on her desk. Once again, her mind had wandered to other things. She silently wished that Mr. Kudake could be that much more interesting and _that_ much more of a better teacher to save her from her prickly trips down memory lane.

Losing focus again, she found her eyes wandering from the page to the edge of her desk and finally to the window, where she stared at the grey clouds rapidly forming in the sky. What had brought back that particular memory from so long ago, she wasn't sure, though she was suddenly inclined to have another look at that object that had been at the top of the tree so long ago. She glanced back at her textbook and decided to look at the object when she got home, given she survived detention with Mr. Kudake and Takato first.

Lazily, her mind wandered to what had been said at lunch. Though she had no intention of being attracted to Takato, what her friends had gone on to say later at lunch had been correct. It was true that she hadn't shown that much initiative, that much drive, that much vigor since her middle school years. In short, since she'd last seen him. But it didn't matter that Takato could instill the same feelings in her...did it?

_RING_

The final bell sounded, announcing to all that the day was finally over. A noisy shuffling filled the small classroom as students speedily packed away their things and bustled out the door. Yuka shot Kagome a meaningful look while Eri and Ayumi patted Kagome on the shoulder as they left, wishing their friend good luck for the arduous event that lay before her. Kagome had a feeling that it would be a long, long, _long_ hour in detention to endure.

Still, this was her chance. Just the two of them, save Mr. Kudake who didn't really count as a human being. Maybe somehow, she could come to a more solid conclusion about Takato in the hour to come.

As the rest of the remaining students shuffled out the door, Mr. Kudake got to his feet, a murderous glint in his eyes.

"Well Miss Higurashi, Mr. Takahashi," Mr. Kudake started slowly as he walked around to the front of his desk where he leaned back somewhat casually, "This afternoon we're going to learn a thing or two about being disrespectful in my class."

"Feh."

Kagome's heart skipped a few beats though not in response to Mr. Kudake's "threats".

"For now, though," Mr. Kudake continued, his eyes on Takato who was currently leaning back in his chair, a look of pure annoyance on his face, "I have to check to see if my car is closed properly." He nodded his head towards the window; it looked like a heavy storm was coming, "So if you'll excuse me." He turned to leave and was a step from the door when he added menacingly, "If either of you leave this room while I'm gone you can expect your hour of detention to become a month." He then turned the brass knob and was gone leaving Kagome and Takato in silence.

Kagome, who had suddenly been blessed with an opportunity, found herself staring at Takato, for once in her life, too scared to voice her theories for fear of them being shot down in an instant.

This time, however, unlike earlier in class, Takato saw her staring and did not pause to think before commenting. "What the hell are you staring at, stupid girl?" he shot, his features laced with sheer annoyance, and his voice dripping with a certain loathing, "Fuck, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're in love with me or something."

Kagome blinked. Did he just say..._in love with_?

"You're insane," she answered back, glaring at him with all the strength she could muster. He sounded so much like him... If she closed her eyes, she could pretend it was him... If only...

"Feh. Just keep your eyes to yourself, dumb bitch," he muttered, crossing his arms and staring straight ahead, clearly irritable over his predicament, "I just want to get the hell out of here."

"I already told you not to call me that," Kagome replied, crossly.

"Whatever."

Not knowing how to pursue her goal next and feeling thoroughly put off, Kagome instead chose to glance from Takato out the window and study the incoming storm clouds. All at once, painful visions flashed across her eyes.

Lightning which ripped through the sky and rain which began to pound incessantly over everything.

Dirt that turned to mud, screams that turned to sobs, blood that mixed with rainwater.

And his blank stare. His blank, blank stare that seemed to leave the unforgotten whisper in her ear, "It's over. It's all over and he'll never return."

Without being able to stop herself, one lonesome tear formed at the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek, disappearing in a dark stain on her desk. Ashamed and shaken by the sudden remembrances, she wiped her eyes carelessly with the back of her sleeve, not realizing that Takato had turned to look at her.

"What? Your last boyfriend dump you in a rainstorm or something?" he asked insensitively with a scoff that shook her even more as rain began to beat against the window panes. Bitterly, she turned to face him, most of the trace of tears gone, save for a slight reddening around her eyes. "Look I didn't mean to make you cry," Takato continued off-handedly, staring her straight in the eye, "But if you think I'm gonna comfort you or something, you're stupider than you look."

You can't be him...

He would understand...

"Whatever it is that's bugging you, get over it."

"Takahashi?" she spoke quietly, though her tone was severe enough.

"What?"

"Shut up."

Takato blinked. He was almost positive that the girl didn't have it in her to tell him to shut up; not when she looked so crappy and beaten up over whatever the hell she had been remembering. A slight smirk crossed his face, "Wouldn't dream of it, bi—"

He paused before he could finish the word.

"Stupid girl."

* * *

><p>Somehow, though thankfully, Kagome had survived detention. Shortly after telling Takato to shut up, Mr. Kudake had returned looking as angry as ever as it seemed his car windows had jammed and now his car had been cheerfully transformed into a mini swimming pool. In his fit of anger, he'd ended up dismissing the two students early, yelling about his insurance and where his life had gone oh so wrong (Kagome mused that <em>that<em> particular event had occurred when he decided to start teaching high school...).

And so, Takato and Kagome had trudged down the steps, side-by-side only in definition, without saying a word or so much as looking at each other. And at the bottom of the steps, Takato had turned left to exit the building and Kagome had turned right to seek refuge in the library until the storm was over.

And any thoughts that Takato Takahashi could be even _remotely_ related to him had flown out the door with Takato himself and into the miniature hurricane, forever blown away by unforgiving winds and drowned in an unpleasant downpour.

After all, the theory had been far-fetched to begin with. The theory that somehow, Takato had some relation to him... though reincarnations were completely possible (Kagome noted her own existence reluctantly), she couldn't help but feel that if it were truly him, if Takato had anything, _anything_ at all, to do with him, she'd know. And he certainly wouldn't have treated her like _that_.

Kagome stabbed angrily at her desk with her mechanical pencil, causing a few loose papers to slip off the edge and scatter around her room. What a terribly rude thing to say.

There was absolutely nothing Kagome liked about Takahashi Takato. This much, she was certain of.

Slightly annoyed, she turned her attention away from him and to the piece of paper before her. It was an application for the Tokyo Hospital Internship Program which she had picked up from the librarian after her detention fiasco. Pensively, she tapped the eraser of her pencil to her temple as she focused whole-heartedly on the application. After all, it was like she had said at the beginning of the year to Yuka: she was focused on her dream to become a doctor and no boy was going to get in her way of that.

Blinking, she read over what she had filled in on the form thus far, glancing over her name, age, address, school and a short paragraph on why she wanted to take part in the internship. All that was left was to decide whether she wanted to work on the main campus or the branch campus which was slightly closer to her house. She was puzzling over the decision when suddenly, her pencil slipped from her hand and bounced across the floor.

Sighing, she bent over to retrieve the pencil, banging her right hand on the chair in the process. Uttering an exclamation of pain, she quickly grabbed the pencil with her other hand and returned to her sitting position, trying to shake the feeling of pain away from her right hand. Impatient as she was to finish the form, she set off to fill it out with her left hand as all that was left to do was check off a box. She was about to check off the box for the branch campus when she suddenly felt a light tug at her wrist, which shifted her hand a quarter of an inch up the page, leading her pencil to hover over the 'Main Campus' check off box. Puzzling over this strange event, but ultimately deciding that the main campus would probably have more resources and thus a better program, she checked off the 'Main Campus' box before folding the application and placing it in an envelope, all ready to be mailed the next day.

Now finally done with the application, she allowed herself a moment's rest before starting on homework. She leaned back and stared at the patterns in the rough plaster on the ceiling, her mind wandering to other things, memories and events, all alike.

"_What is it?" _

"_You really wanna know?" _

"_Yes." _

"_Really?"_

"_Yes!" _

"_Fine, but you're not going to like it." _

"_Oh please, just tell me!" _

"_It's..." _

Kagome got up from her chair and walked over to where her bed was, kneeling on her hands and knees so that she could see under the bed. With practiced methodology, she removed a small black book from amongst the other forgotten items that had come to rest under her bed and took a seat on her comforter, the black book resting in her lap.

There had been an oddly colored feather caught in the God Tree that day, one that she had nearly demanded him to take her closer to in order to examine. The feather resided in the pages of the very book in her lap as the book was a sort of diary from those forgotten days and if she so wanted to, she could turn the book upside down and shake it by its binding until the brilliant vermillion feather was released from its paper prison and set to float down and onto her lap.

She paused, with her hand on the cover of the journal, the silence in the small room suddenly overwhelming her.

He had never explained what she wasn't going to like about it... In fact, she'd thought the feather was quite beautiful and magnificent, having never seen anything like it and had even held it up for him to see for himself when he had scowled at her for being stupid.

She sighed.

Oh well... it was just a trivial memory.

Carefully, she hopped off her bed and returned the small book to its place under her bed.

Nostalgia was for another day, it seemed.

"Kagome!" she heard her mother calling from the kitchen, "I'm getting ready to make dinner!"

"Coming Mama!" Kagome called back, allowing herself to once again forget the black book and everything that had happened within its pages.

* * *

><p>"Ever since Monday, you two haven't said a word to each other, let alone even <em>looked<em> at each other," Yuka pointed out incredulously at lunch on Friday, "What _happened_ exactly?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Why does it matter, Yuka?" she asked seriously. The thought of Takahashi Takato still bugged her even though he had probably acted as any stranger with a mouth like his and an attitude of the same nature would. Maybe it was the fact that he _was_ a stranger that bugged her more than his reaction...

"It doesn't, it doesn't!" assured Yuka somewhat defensively, putting her hands up in defeat, "There was just something about you two that...I don't know, seemed..."

"Seemed what?" prodded Kagome, though she knew that it was nothing serious but rather Yuka's romantic attitude towards her friends and guys.

"Different," answered Yuka plainly.

The two girls let the matter drop, instead focusing their attention on other topics as Eri and Ayumi joined them from staying late after class. "What did the geezer Kudake want with you guys?" Yuka asked as they took a seat.

"You should be more respectful, Yuka," Eri answered, ignoring Yuka's main question. Yuka scowled.

"He wanted us to give this to Kagome," replied Ayumi, extracting an envelope from her pocket and laying it on the table, "It's from the Tokyo Hospital Internship Program."

Yuka and Kagome both eyed the envelope curiously. "From the internship you applied to?" asked Yuka, finally turning to Kagome who was still staring at the envelope.

"That's the one," replied Kagome quietly, anticipation stealing away her voice.

"Well open it!" urged Yuka, sliding the letter closer to Kagome.

Persuaded by the cheers from her friends, Kagome took the envelope in her hands and opened the seal carefully. Holding her breath, she withdrew the letter and read quickly as her friends watched intently and silently.

"I made it!" Kagome finally exclaimed, a wide grin breaking out over her face, "My first day is tomorrow!"

"Congratulations Kagome!" Eri cheered as Ayumi clapped and Yuka uttered a small "duh".

Folding the letter back up carefully, Kagome couldn't help but smile at the first thing to go truly right in a long, long time. She was so happy she scarcely recognized a certain cocky, delinquent staring at her from across the cafeteria.

"What gives, Takato?" a boy dressed as carelessly as Takato asked, though he didn't pull off the look nearly as well.

"Just watching something interesting," replied Takato, still watching Kagome and her friends engaged in their mini celebration.

The boy followed Takato's gaze to Kagome and scoffed, "The bitch who called you out on Monday? What about her?"

Takato didn't answer but instead continued to stare. Something about that bitch was intriguing, though he couldn't put his finger on exactly what.

Well he'd know soon enough.

* * *

><p>The rain was starting to fall harder now. Kagome mentally cursed the world around her as she lay in the dirt-turned-mud, wondering why it was that rain always found her at her worst moments.<p>

In the distance, towards the top of the cliff, she saw several shadowy figures moving quickly, zipping back and forth as if frightened or worried.

Not caring much about either her fate or the identities of the figures, her glance retreated to the ground; she was unable to feel her limbs.

"Kagome!" she heard a familiar voice echo throughout the canyon, "Kagome!"

Please don't find me...

Please don't take me back...

In an instant, the shadowy figure was beside her, kneeling close to her and filling her with the scent of forest and earth.

"You're going to be alright," he whispered though he couldn't hide the panic in his voice.

You're such a liar Koga...

I'll never be alright.

* * *

><p>Kagome awoke with a start as her alarm clock screeched relentlessly by her bed. Quickly, she glanced at the face of the clock. 7:43 am.<p>

7:43...am...?

Panic rushed through her as she literally jumped out of bed and sprinted to her closet.

She was due at the hospital for training in approximately _seventeen minutes_!

Without so much as a thought about the dream or anything else, she ripped off her pajamas and threw on the clothes she had picked out the previous night. Frantically, she grabbed her bag and ran out the door, slamming her room door in the process, before leaping down the stairs.

"Bye Mama! Bye Gramps!" she shouted as she ran past the kitchen, pausing slightly to jam her shoes on before sprinting out the door.

"Good luck dear!" she heard her mother call, as she closed the door and ran down the familiar path leading out of the shrine.

Of all days, she just had to choose _this_ one to oversleep on?

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" she furiously muttered to herself as she made her way down the shrine steps and ran down the sidewalk towards the Main Campus of the Tokyo Hospital. It wasn't as though this internship was some fly-by-night program; if they wanted to replace her they certainly could and being late on the first day would be the perfect warrant to do so!

Though luckily, Kagome was rather gifted when it came to running. Ever since her middle school days, she was fairly good at such physically demanding endeavors and thus she arrived at the hospital doors at approximated 7:59 am, panting and out of breath albeit, but still on time. Unfortunately, it took approximately two minutes to get the information on where she had to be and take the elevator to the top floor where she was told she would meet with the head of the program to explain her tardiness.

Kagome fidgeted with her skirt as the elevator ascended. The best thing to do would be to tell the truth, she decided as the elevator approached the twentieth and top floor. Whatever would happen next would happen, she supposed.

The elevator made a long 'ding' as the doors slid open. Cautiously, she exited the chamber and made her way down the long red velvet carpet that led to a large oak desk at the end of the room where a man was sitting. As she neared the desk, a look of horror settled in as she realized who it was sitting behind the desk.

"Well what do we have here? Late on your first day, wench?" the strangely familiar and very arrogant voice rang out through the room, "I'm surprised. You're not the type to be late though I guess maybe this internship isn't as important to you as we thought."

"_You're_ the head of the program?" Kagome sputtered in surprise as she finally reached the desk, staring at the man with a look of utmost shock.

Takato smirked at her.

"My family owns the hospital," he grinned, a look of mischief in his eye.

Kagome could barely believe her luck. Of all the coincidences! Of all the people! Of all the—argh this was just too much!

"So why are you late?" Takato asked, somewhat professionally, ignoring her apparent internal battles.

"I didn't hear my alarm," Kagome answered sourly, still unable to believe her terrible luck.

"Well, that can be forgiven, I suppose, since it's your first day," Takato replied, shuffling through the papers on his desk. An evil smirk suddenly crossed his face, "That is, if you beg."

"Excuse me?" asked Kagome incredulously, not quite believing what she'd just heard.

"You heard me, wench. This internship isn't some part-time fast food joint job. If you really want it, then show me."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, wanting more than ever to slap that annoying smirk off her face. But she _did_ really need the internship. If she wanted admittance to the Undergraduate Medical Program at the University, she would have to show that she had some sort of experience in the field and the only way she was going to do that was through this internship. Reluctantly, she bowed her head. "Please forgive my tardiness," she said quietly, her pride taking a severe blow, "I beg you to give me a second chance."

Takato gaped at her, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe she was actually _begging_ for a second chance. Well, fuck.

Kagome looked up at him, still glaring, "Is that good enough?"

Takato blinked the shock away and replied. "Yeah, just don't fucking do it again, or something." He let out a loud sigh, turning away from her, "Paperwork really isn't my thing."

_I figured that much out from class_, Kagome thought dully. Quickly, she turned to leave, not wanting to be in his presence another minute.

"Hey, wait girl!" he called, standing up from his desk, quickly, causing several papers to scatter.

"What?" asked Kagome turning to face him, "And my name is Kagome!"

"You're not even going to thank me?" He asked, looking disgruntled and flushed as though he had surely been expecting her gratitude for his very 'kind' deed.

Though Kagome could barely believe what she was hearing, he _had _pardoned her tardiness... Kagome chewed on her tongue, carefully thinking his request over. "Call me 'Kagome' from now on," she answered, still cross over his behavior towards her, "My name's Kagome. Ka-go-me."

"Feh."

Kagome sighed. "Thank you," she said as she made her way back towards the elevator, wondering about his sudden change in attitude.

"You're welcome," Takato paused, "Kagome."

She stopped.

"_Kagome..." _

"_Eh?"_

"_Now what...?"_

"_That's the first time you called me by name." _

"_What of it?" _

"_Maybe you're starting to feel a little friendlier?"_

"_Keh. Don't get your hopes up. I'm not about to make friends with a dull girl like you."_

"But we're not friends," Kagome whispered, her eyes stinging, "You're not him."

He's gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I don't know how this chapter ended up being so long! As I stated in chapter three, this one was actually supposed to be much shorter but lo and behold, it's pushing 5,000 words... Go figure. The final scene in the hospital office was actually supposed to be longer and was rewritten several times but there, you get what you get. ^^;**

**Please review as a lazy writer like me mostly only updates stories which get reviews. So, please, please, pleaseeee review? :)**

**Until next time~**


	5. Reoccurring Obstacles

**A/N: Sorry this is out so late everyone! To be honest, it's been sitting on my desktop since July… (maybe not the correct thing to say to the angry fans… ^^). But! I do have a sort of legit excuse this time! In August, I moved into college. :O Yup, I'm really showing my age here, huh? More info on my profile page, but the bottom line is that I've been super busy! Buttttttt, I couldn't let down all those who have put this story on their alerts, favorites and have reviewed. I want to take this time to thank all of the reviewers I couldn't PM my thanks to (either because of anonymous signings or because they had disabled PMs). Thanks everybody~ Your reviews are the first thing I read before I start a new chapter. :) And for those loyal readers who have not yet dropped me a line: shame on you! XD Now that my shameless advertising is over, please enjoy chapter five in which the introduction of a ridiculous complication occurs. :D**

* * *

><p>Reoccurring Obstacles<p>

* * *

><p>"Happy Birthday!"<p>

A hearty round of 'happy birthday's and 'congratulations' chorused throughout the Higurashi Shrine grounds as Kagome, surrounded by her three closest friends, mother, grandfather and brother, sat in the warm April sun, on a picnic blanket, marveling at the peaceful weather.

"I can't believe you're already eighteen," Kagome's mother exclaimed, tears beginning to form in her eyes, "My little girl, growing up!"

"Thanks Mama," Kagome replied as her mother thrust a small, wrapped packaged into her hands.

"It sure what nice of you to host the party at your shrine, Mrs. Higurashi," Ayumi commented brightly, admiring the fine woodwork of the shrine gates and well house.

"But I know how much you girls wanted to go karaoking," responded Kagome's mother, somewhat crestfallen.

"This is great too!" exclaimed Yuka, eyeing the strawberry cake.

"Who knew they'd close the karaoke bar just this week," mused Eri, reaching to cut the birthday cake, "That was bad luck."

"As long as we're all together," commented Kagome earning another chorus of 'yes's and 'of course's from the three remaining girls.

"Kagome, I got this for you!" exclaimed Kagome's grandfather, pulling out a small white, paper bag from his back pocket, "It took me a good three days, trekking through the swamps just outside of Tokyo but I—"

"Can you at least wait until after the cake, Gramps?" asked Sota, feeling the need to stop his grandfather's customary and longwinded rant, as he was the only one listening to the elderly man.

Turning their attention to the pink and white homemade cake before them, the party guests quickly lapsed into silence as they calculated how to make optimally sized cuts to satisfy all of their wants and needs. Kagome had just picked up the knife, and was hovering over the cake, ready to cut it when a loud knocking coming from the main gate suddenly interrupted the party. All heads quickly turned to see what the cause of the interruption was, anxious to see who was coming to call at the shrine on a Sunday, the one day it was closed.

There, standing by the large red archway, was Takato, looking as haughty as ever. Especially, since he was being forced to visit Kagome Higurashi's house on a _Sunday_, the one day he _didn't_ have to see her.

Kagome's grandfather quickly scrambled to his feet, convinced that a customer had come calling, but it was Kagome who was at the gate in an instant to meet the intruder on their festivities.

"Having a party?" Takato asked, an eyebrow raised, as Kagome neared him.

"Yeah, it's her birthday!" Yuka called from the blanket, in a tone that seemed to add 'you should have known' to the end of her commentary.

"Oh," responded Takato, neglecting to wish her a happy birthday and instead averting his gaze to the tops of the God Tree in the near distance.

Kagome stood a few feet from him, waiting for him to explain his sudden appearance though he seemed completely out of it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she made to get his attention. "Why are you here?" she asked straight out, not meaning for the words to sound so rude.

Takato, realizing that she was talking to him, turned back to face her, cleared his throat and extracted something from the bag he was carrying, "You left this at the hospital, yesterday." A deep blush crept across his features as he spoke, "I thought you might need it for tomorrow."

Kagome's eyes widened as she realized what he was holding. _How could I have forgotten that? _she thought frantically.

Sota, who had been intrigued by Takato's appearance at the shrine, wandered closer to the pair trying to ascertain for himself what the secret meeting was about. "Nee-chan," he began as he saw the object in Takato's hand, "Why does some guy have your clothes?"

There was a moment of awkward silence as the rest of the guests fully comprehended what Sota had just blurted out. Suddenly Takato and Kagome felt very, very warm on an otherwise breezy day.

Then all at once, it was as though whatever silence spell that had settled on the Higurashi Shrine was broken as everyone began talking at once.

"He has what?" Yuka shouted the loudest, half-excited over the prospect, half-mad that Kagome had not shared whatever blissful experience she had had with the rest of them.

"I can't believe this!" cried Ayumi, looking utterly shocked and gripping her cheeks as though she, herself, was embarrassed for both of them.

Eri and Kagome's mother were merely silent as Kagome's grandfather stood yet again and irately began some long rant on teenagers and their behavior 'these days'.

"Hey kid!" Takato angrily exclaimed, "That's not something you say so damn loud in front of other people!"

Kagome quickly took the school uniform she had left in the hospital interns' changing room from Takato and shook her head at the reactions swirling around her.

"Sorry, Nii-chan," Sota replied innocently.

"And don't call me that, damnit!" Takato shot back, clearly upset that his good deed had been marred by a misunderstanding. "Feh, I try to do one good thing," he muttered as he turned to leave.

He was halfway down the shrine steps when Kagome called after him, "Takato!"

He suddenly froze, surprised that she had called him by name. "What?" he asked, irritably, turning to face her.

"Thank you," replied Kagome earnestly. She would have been in trouble without her school uniform for the following day and so she was truly thankful he had gone out of his way to bring it to her.

"Keh, don't expect me to do this all the damn time," he warned.

"Alright," answered Kagome, smiling slightly.

"Feh, women." And with that he was off, down the sidewalk, on his way back to the hospital where no doubt, his mother would be angry with him for missing his shift.

Kagome stood in silence, watching after him for a moment, before Sota brought her back to reality. "Hey nee-chan," he said quietly, pulling at her sleeve.

"What Sota?" responded Kagome, still gazing in the direction he had left in.

"He reminds me of someone," continued Sota slowly.

Kagome turned to look at her brother slowly, biting her lip, afraid to ask "who?"

"Hey Kagome!" Yuka's voice suddenly rang out clearly through the yard, "You have some serious explaining to do!"

Suddenly realizing that their interaction hadn't been private, Kagome felt her cheeks heat up as she turned to face her friends and family. Awkwardly, she made her way towards them as Yuka shot off a dozen questions concerning the mysterious house call, the foreign stranger and returning of clothes. Admittedly, when put that way, the whole matter did seem rather scandalous.

"I left my clothes at the hospital yesterday after I changed into my intern's uniform," Kagome answered, taking her seat again, "That's all."

"That's all?" Yuka asked intensely, leaning close and hoping there would be more.

"That's all," Kagome stated firmly.

"Darn," Yuka muttered as Ayumi let out a sigh of relief and Eri shook her head. "But you've been working together for almost two weeks at the hospital!" Yuka suddenly whined, looking for a plausible opening, "And you mean to say _nothing_ has happened? _Nothing_?" Kagome shook her head firmly, which caused Yuka to mutter darkly under her break yet again.

"He did seem like a nice boy though," Kagome's mother said after everyone had returned their attention to the cake on the blanket, "Is he a classmate?"

Kagome nodded, her mouth full of strawberries and cream.

"He's a new student," Eri explained for her currently mute friend.

"A transfer?" questioned Kagome's mother.

"I don't think so," answered Kagome, swallowing her cake, "Why?"

"I heard that your school was doing a transfer program this year," Kagome's mother elaborated.

"With what country?" asked Eri, suddenly interested, being the Welcoming Committee president that she was.

"I'm not sure," Kagome's mother put her hand on her check, "But I suspect they'll be starting soon."

"_More_ new students?" asked Yuka. She blinked before laughing, "This time I'll definitely catch one! You got lucky last time, Kagome." She winked at Kagome who could only roll her eyes.

Luck?

She didn't think that was quite what was drawing her and Takahashi Takato together.

No. What was drawing them together was an accidental check off on an internship application and his rude mouth and conceited personality.

She glanced sideways at her school uniform, lying in a heap beside the picnic basket of food.

Well...maybe he wasn't too bad...

* * *

><p>"Kagome...?" Koga's voice was barely a whisper, as he approached the small figure in the corner of his cave. She was curled up in a small ball, leaning against the stony walls, her eyes blank and her limbs cut and bruised from running all night, not to mention, a dangerous fall. "Kagome, you have to eat," he pleaded, a bowl of broth in his left hand, "Please." His voice cracked, "I'm begging you."<p>

Kagome continued to stare straight ahead, looking without really seeing, as she hugged her legs to her chest in a practiced act of habit, holding onto the last edges of reality and cursing the world around her for refusing to let go.

"Kagome, I promised to take care of you," Koga stated, his the phrase suddenly shattering and echoing back to her in several different voices, all of which she knew too well.

"Kagome, I promised to take care of you!"

"Kagome, I promise to take care of you..."

"I promise I'll always protect you."

"Kagome..."

Her heart splintered again all at once as the last voice echoed again and again on her deaf ears.

And the world seemed to fall away and break as hollow promises were made.

* * *

><p>"Kagome! You're needed on level three in the medication room!" a middle-aged nurse in a white uniform barked, as she brandished a clipboard, "Hurry up!"<p>

"Yes Ma'am!" Kagome responded, quickly rushing towards the elevator and hitting the 'down' button. It was just another day at the hospital. She found herself usually working three times a week after school and every other Saturday at the hospital where she would do everything from watch important procedures being carried out to running medication assignments back and forth from the medication room on level three to patients all throughout the hospital.

A loud 'ding' sounded as the elevator finally arrived. The doors slid open at a moderate speed and Kagome entered, pressing the button for level three and glancing at her list of things to do for the day. After this impromptu assignment by Nurse Jin, one of the older nurses assigned to "look after" interns, she had to visit room 714 where she would have to check to make sure the medication schedules were correct. She shuddered slightly. Last time, she had accidentally messed up the medication schedule by five minutes and had been severely berated for her flaw. She chewed her lip as the encounter danced on the fringe of her memory. She would make sure to pay special attention this time.

Another loud 'ding' echoed in the elevator as the doors slid open, leading to the third floor. However, blocking her path was none other than Takahashi Takato, looking regretfully attractive in his lab coat.

After shortly nodding to him, she brushed past him, determined to make her way briskly to the medication room without much interaction.

"Hey girl!"

So much for that.

Kagome turned to see Takato coming up on her fast. Sighing, she reluctantly realized there would be no escaping him this afternoon. "Kago—", she began to correct him though he cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said impatiently, falling into stride with her as they both walked towards the medication room, "Picking up meds for someone?"

Kagome held up her schedule for him to see. "I got sent by Nurse Jin," she explained as she scoffed at the paper as though it were below him to read.

"Oh, Nurse Jin," he said, a slightly sinister smile forming, "I heard she's really tough on interns this year."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her companion, "_You're_ an intern too, you know."

He grinned at her cockily causing her to roll her eyes again in frustration. Sometimes, she could barely understand herself and how she put up with Takahashi Takato.

"Miss Higurashi!" a voice from behind the pair barked, "Where are you going?"

Startled, Kagome quickly turned to see Nurse Jin fuming at her. Steaming, the woman marched up to the pair, which had stopped, her clipboard swaying forebodingly in her hand. "Did I not assign you to the medication room next?" she asked, condescendingly, eyeing Kagome and evidently paying no attention to Takato.

"You did," answered Kagome, discreetly inspecting her surroundings. There on her left was the cardio machine and on her right was the secretary's roundtable. A few doors down was room 418, then 419... Her heart fell. Room 418? She'd gotten off on the _wrong_ floor. Seething, she turned to Takato who was of course, oblivious to her.

"Then why," asked Jin, impatiently, "Are you on the wrong floor?"

"I must have gotten off on the wrong floor," Kagome answered though she could tell from Jin's face that the answer was not acceptable.

Jin stared at Kagome for a minute, surveying her like a hawk, before deciding that she had better things to do than yell at interns. "Get to work!" she commanded, before turning on her heel and marching away, a final reminder of, "Don't do it again!" echoing after her.

Kagome sighed before following her, on her way back to the elevator.

"Tough luck," commented Takato, who was once again walking with her.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" asked Kagome, slightly annoyed with him. Copying her actions from earlier, Takato held up his schedule in front of Kagome for her to see. Kagome nearly tripped when she realized the first line was identical to hers. "You're supposed to be in the medication room too!" she exclaimed incredulously, "She didn't even _look_ at you!" She looked from the schedule to Takato, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Perks of being the owner's fucking son," Takato smirked.

Kagome could not believe it.

Takato Takahashi got away with _everything_ at the hospital.

And it annoyed Kagome Higurashi to no end.

Her luck...was...

Questionable.

For sure.

* * *

><p><em>RING<em>

As the bell sounded, signaling that lunch was over, groans and moans filled the cafeteria, alerting teachers and counselors alike to just how much the students did not want to return to class. Kagome, Yuka, Eri and Ayumi were, of course, among those who found school almost lethal in terms of boredom and with a teacher like Mr. Kudake, who could blame them? Begrudgingly, the four girls got to their feet and made their way out of the cafeteria and towards their classroom on the second floor.

"I never knew grammar could be this boring," Ayumi commented grimly, as they made their way up the stairs.

"Did you _really_ just say that?" Yuka asked, her mouth slightly ajar.

"You have to admit, Mr. Kudake makes it worse!"

"Kudake could make a lesson on 'how to get guys' boring," Yuka stated sourly to which the four friends quickly agreed.

"Well, here's something interesting," said Eri as they neared the classroom. Though she had been oddly quiet all day, she had looked excited, as though she was waiting for just the right time to tell them some grand piece of news.

"What?" asked Kagome, interested in anything that could make the lesson at least _that_ much more interesting.

"Today, the new transfer students are supposed to come!" Eri announced proudly, smiling widely at them.

"Really?" exclaimed Yuka, her eyes now glinting, "Any hot guys? Please say yes, please say yes!"

Eri laughed, shaking her head, "Well, I don't know. I didn't meet them. The Welcoming Committee is only allowed to work on domestic affairs. All international affairs are handled by the higher ups." She pointed up which caused the three remaining girls to follow her motioning and look to where she was pointing. "I meant the faculty," clarified Eri laughing a bit. The three girls looked at each other dumbfounded, though they soon joined in on laughing as well.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Takato's voice cut across the girls' laughter. Kagome stopped laughing to look up at him. He was staring at her with a look of annoyance mixed with confusion and his usual cockiness.

Kagome was about to ask what he meant when she suddenly realized that the four girls had come to pause in the entryway to the classroom. Excusing themselves, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi quickly shuffled into the room, winking at each other and quickly glancing back at Takato and Kagome who were still situated in the doorway. "You could say 'excuse me'," Kagome scolded, crossing her arms at him as he walked past her, "We do see each other every day."

"Doesn't mean I have to be any nicer to you, bitch," Takato replied aloofly, taking a seat at his desk and leaning back in his chair.

"Honestly, is he ever polite to anyone?" Yuka whispered to Kagome as she took a seat.

Kagome sighed and shrugged, glancing at Takato out of the corner of her eye, "He really isn't. But I guess that's just who he is."

"Hey, fuck off, bastard!" Takato shouted from the other side of the room, concurrently flicking someone off who had obviously just pissed him off.

Yuka shook her head, narrowing her eyes in disgust, "I'll pay good money to see someone who he's actually friendly to." She paused, "Oops. He _was_ friendly to you that one time." She turned back to Kagome with a devilish grin, "On your birthday. He brought you your clothes."

Kagome twirled her pencil in her right hand. "I found out later it was only because his mother was yelling at him," she clarified in a somewhat bored tone.

"Really?" exclaimed Yuka, completely shocked, "His _mother_?"

"Yeah... apparently she's one of the main heads of the hospital," Kagome explained slowly, "And the only one who ever disciplines him at the hospital. He gets away with _everything_!"

Yuka nodded, sympathizing with her friend, "Okay, so the deal's still on the table then; big money for someone who he's genuinely nice to."

"Listen up class!" Mr. Kudake had just entered the classroom, exuberantly as usual, slamming down his briefcase on his desk and fixing his spectacles as he went. By now, the class had ascertained that he _really_ liked slamming things on his desk and had bets going on how long it would take before he broke said desk. "We have a very important guest with us today, so if you would please, your full attention." He turned to speak to Takato directly, "Especially you, Takahashi."

"Feh."

Kagome glanced at Eri who was mouthing 'new transfer student'. Eager to see who it would be this time, she refocused her attention back on the classroom door. It was still for a few moments, when suddenly, it opened swiftly and in glided a young woman who looked about eighteen with long dark hair and coffee colored eyes that matched her porcelain skin exceptionally well. She was remarkably pretty and walked with unmatched grace that had all the boys of the class gawking at her though she had only been in the room for about ten seconds.

"Please welcome our class's transfer student from China," Mr. Kudake spoke respectfully, "Aiko Chiyo."

The girl politely bowed at her introduction before speaking. "I'm very glad to be here," when she spoke her voice was that of a wind chime and her polite demeanor only served to make her seem more elegant. Her oddly glossy, coffee-colored eyes drifted from one person to the next, resting on Kagome for what seemed like, to Kagome, a fragment of a second longer than the others. Though the long pause, that _everyone_ noticed, was not for Kagome. No, but for a certain delinquent sitting with his chair flat on the floor and his eyes the most attentive they had been all year.

At the sight of Takato, Chiyo's eyes widened for a moment, her polite demeanor broken as shock rippled her, though she quickly concealed it once again, as though it had merely been a trick of the light. "You may take your seat here," Mr. Kudake directed, ushering her towards a seat in the front row.

"Thank you," Chiyo answered politely, taking her seat and paying no mind to Takato who was now gawking at her along with the rest of the class.

Kagome placed her chin in her hand and her elbow on the desk, peering at Takato through narrow eyes. Sure, other guys were staring at Chiyo and sure, she was pretty. After all, she looked just like a model. But Kagome didn't think Takato would be the type to gape at her too.

_What's with him?_ she thought somewhat bitterly as she observed his entirely engrossed figure. Gone were the traces of egotism and haughtiness that he always wore so well. The boy sitting before her was one who looked thoroughly entranced and taken with the young lady who had just entered the room. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of...jealousy...?

Annoyed with Takato for being a foolish idiot and above all, annoyed with herself for caring about said idiocy, Kagome turned away from Takato with a small 'hmph' and progressed to stare out the window instead. Things just seemed to be getting more and more ridiculous.

And she was powerless to stop it.

* * *

><p>"There you go. You're all patched up," Kagome said, as she removed the last of the bandages from the hospital bedside. A boy of fourteen or fifteen was lying before her, covered in an array of bindings and gauze medical tape. From Kagome's perspective, he had needed every last bit of dressings. The boy had been rescued from a massive fire that had broken out the previous day in a nearby apartment complex. The cause of the fire had yet to be resolved, though foul play was suspected. From the fire, only twelve individuals had been rescued; a national crisis given that over sixty people had been in the building at the time.<p>

"Luckily, you were only on the first floor," Kagome continued to speak as though she were talking to no one. Looking at the boy, she couldn't help but empathize. Sick, twisted memories of long ago—of losing those that were most precious to her—came rushing back as angry, red burns liquefied and spilled blood before her eyes. She blinked the memories away before discarding the used bandages in the trash bin at the foot of the bed. She was glad to have something besides running medication orders up and down the halls of the hospital, and yet, felt slightly ashamed that the break in boredom had only been due to bad luck in terms of staffing and even worse luck in terms of this boy's very life.

"Miss!" the boy suddenly called as Kagome was making her way to the door.

Kagome jumped slightly at the boy's call. She had thought he was sleeping. Unsure of what to do and clearly unqualified to assist him in any drastic way should he need it, Kagome paused before turning to face him. "Yes?" she asked, stepping closer to him.

"Can you adjust my pillow?" he asked seemingly innocent enough. Wordlessly, Kagome walked around to the head of his bed and gave the pillow a good fluff. "There were fire demons, you know." Kagome paused, both of her hands on either side of the boy's pillow. Had he just said…demons?

She wanted to question him.

She wanted to ask what he meant.

She wanted to know how? When? Where?

_Why?_

But, no, she was done with that. Demons?

They were a thing of the past.

Quite literally.

"They were the ones that set the building on fire. They killed everyone."

Kagome gave the pillows one final, good smack before turning on the boy and walking out. "Good night," she mumbled though it was barely 6:15pm as she left his room.

He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He was scared and confused. He was hallucinating.

He was _wrong._

There weren't demons.

Not here. Not now.

Not in her life.

No, they were gone.

He. Was. Wrong.

He was _wrong._

She leaned up against the wall as voice over the intercom paged interns to the first floor for dismissal.

This was her life now.

Whether she was living it, though. That was an entirely different matter.

* * *

><p>"From the way he looks at her, you'd say he was…well, I don't know, in love."<p>

"Are you joking me? Takahashi Takato? In love?"

"Whoever knew he had a soft spot…"

"Rumors sure do circulate fast," Yuka said lowly as the four friends sat in the back of the classroom, waiting for the final bell to sound. Mr. Kudake had had to attend an urgent appointment at the last minute, leaving the class virtually free for the last hour of school.

"If you so much as take one step outside this classroom before the final bell rings, you can say good-bye to your future at University!" he had warned them all quite blatantly as he rushed out, chucking assorted papers into his bag as he went.

Of course, as soon as he was gone, Takato had been the first to try the door.

"Fucking son of a bitch." The class had looked on with awe, half-wanting to see him get punished, half-wondering to see whether he'd really do it or not. "The fucking door's locked," he'd announced to them, crossly, as he stomped back to his deck, and slammed himself down. Kagone wondered why on earth he was in such a sour mood when it was silly to get so worked up over such a small chance of early dismissal anyway. After all, Mr. Kudake wasn't one to underestimate.

A glance at the ever-glowing Chiyo a few seats away had served to worsen her mood however, and soon, it was easy to tell that both Higurashi Kagome and Takahashi Takato were in very dangerous, virulent spirits.

Which naturally started the rumors.

And that's precisely how they found themselves where they were now.

Yuka glanced from her friend to the new transfer student, back to Kagome. She didn't _want_ to ask Kagome how she felt about Takato or Chiyo or them together… Well, that wasn't quite right. She actually _did_ want to ask… But like Kagome would ever give her a straight answer. She doubted even Kagome knew…

"Oh no!" Yuka suddenly exclaimed, her thoughts temporarily shifting to non-gossip related things, "I just realized I have a doctor's appointment today!"

Eri raised her eyebrows, "Did you miss it?"

"No, no, but I might. I have to stay after and clean today," Yuka sighed, "But then I'll miss my appointment."

"Don't look at me," replied Eri, backing away slowly, "I have to meet with the Welcoming Committee after class."

"And I have piano, Yuka. You should have thought ahead," responded Ayumi simply.

Yuka turned to Kagome as though she were her last hope. And let's face it, she sort of was.

"Please Kagome," she begged, putting her hands together in mock prayer, "Please, please, please."

"Alright!" exclaimed Kagome. After all, she didn't have to work after school today, so cleaning up for a few extra minutes wouldn't be _that_ big of a deal. "I'll do it, but plan ahead better next time, okay?"

Yuka rejoiced, throwing her hands in the hair and cheering. She would have made a scene had the bell not rung at that exact moment to which Kagome was grateful. The rest of the class had been staring at her enough without that possible spectacle.

She didn't understand why they had been staring, though.

After all, there was nothing going on between her and Takahashi Takato. So, there was no reason for anyone to think there was, right? And there was definitely, without a doubt, no reason for anyone to think Aiko Chiyo had _anything_ to do with Kagome's and Takato's nonexistent love affair.

Kagome shook her head.

Somehow, even her own reassurances seemed confusing and exaggerated at best.

Brushing aside the class's supposed general opinions on the matter, and the beautifully, flawless complication that was Aiko Chiyo, she decided that she could be sure of one thing at least.

There was nothing going on between her and Takahashi Takato.

Unable to stop herself, she found herself glancing at the boy as he sprang to his feet, elated that he had finally been released from his knowledge-clad prison.

Right. Nothing.

* * *

><p>Cleaning the entire classroom had taken a surprisingly short amount of time, even by Kagome's standards. She hadn't expected it to take too long. After all, all that was needed to effectively tidy up the medium sized room was to push in some chairs, sweep up and make sure the there were no belongings left strewn about. As Kagome placed the dustpan back in its rightful place, she couldn't help but find the thought of a person assigned for 'cleanup' in high school amusing. Having rarely been assigned to do the job, due to her good behavior and excellent grades, she had never been able to fully appreciate just how ridiculous the whole thing was.<p>

But regardless of it's absurdity, or lack thereof, she was done within fifteen minutes. Making sure she had all of her possessions, she exited the classroom, locking the door behind her, and headed for the stairs. She had to admit, cleaning the classroom had been a nice sort of way to spend the afternoon in that it had a certain air of tranquility to it. She'd have to thank Yuka later.

As she neared the front door, a very odd feeling suddenly washed over her, as though she ought not to head that way. Settling on the fact that that was the only way out on this side of the building, Kagome brushed off the feeling and continued through the door.

It might have been better to listen to her gut; Kagome would note that for next time.

Standing a few yards away, just off the main pathway, were Chiyo and Takato, obviously in conversation. They were positioned a few feet from each other, but definitely, talking to each other. And something about the way they were looking at one another…

A shiver ran up Kagome's spine.

Why… did she feel like she wasn't supposed to be there?

Luckily, since they were off the path, a good bit of imitation forest separated them from Kagome, making it hard for either party to see each other.

Unluckily, Kagome could hear, with almost unreal precision, everything they were saying.

"I can't believe you're really here. Really standing in front of me…"

Kagome stopped. It wasn't all that shocking, was it? To hear, with her own ears, that they had known each other from before. To hear Takato actually being… What was the word? Kind? Caring? …Unselfish?

"From the way you've been looking at me these days, I would have thought you'd forgotten me…" Chiyo answered wistfully, her voice even more beautiful draped in a melancholy tone.

"There hasn't been a single day when I've forgotten about you!"

Kagome felt something catch in her throat as she stared at the stone walkway before her.

This….hasn't happened before…

Has it?

"You're important to me," Takato continued, quietly, his voice nothing like usual. There was no cockiness; there was no stubborn undertone.

_This isn't him. He would never—_

The words are all mixed up.

_Why is he—_

All at once, she suddenly realized it. Aiko Chiyo has to be someone pretty damn special to make the great Takahashi Takato suddenly adapt humane feelings.

Silence enveloped the small area as Kagome turned to leave.

Why does running suddenly feel like the only way she can breathe?

"I feel like an idiot."

_I am an idiot._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So… I hate this ending. I couldn't get it to have the right mood and the words were weird and I'm pretty sure it's in the wrong tense. -_- Just…. the ending did not turn out like I wanted it to. XDD So… yell at me for being ridiculously late with this update? Complain about the new complications? Leave me a review… something… anything? Please…? I'm lonely in college… T.T**

**OKAY! Shameless complaining over—thanks for reading! (now go review… seriously.) **


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